LINEA Inaugural Meeting: Learning initiative on norms, exploitation and abuse

In 2014, the Gender Violence and Health Centre at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine launched a new initiative known as LINEA—the Learning Initiative on Norms, Exploitation and Abuse. As part of this initiative, the Centre created the LINEA Network, which brings together partners working on sexual exploitation and abuse of children to investigate norms and structural factors that drive vulnerability.

The LINEA Network held its first face-to-face meeting from 30 March – 1 April 2015. Hosted at Cumberland Lodge in Windsor, UK, the meeting aimed to:

• Foster a sense of community among those working on sexual exploitation of children (SEC); 
• Create an opportunity for members to network ;
• Provide a forum for sharing insights on preventing SEC; and 
• Build momentum, skills and enthusiasm around primary prevention strategies.

The meeting was also an opportunity to discuss conceptual issues around different definitions of SEC and their implications for research and practice.