The IJM Advocacy Summit gives advocates a chance to meet with their congressional offices to discuss policies that directly impact the work and mission of IJM. For the 2025 event, we expect to focus again on legislation that addresses online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC).*

When and how is the target bill selected? 

Our policy team expects to identify our policy focus by early summer and will evaluate bills introduced to the 119th Congress based on the anticipated impact to IJM's programs and other factors.

If you’re unfamiliar with this growing crime, OSEC encompasses a range of criminal activities. In most cases, local traffickers broadcast abuse – through livestreamed video or the production of new child sexual exploitation materials – to foreign sex offenders. The traffickers are often parents or close relatives who operate in private residences or small cybercafes. Victims include girls and boys who are often under 12 years old and have been as young as two months old. 

The current implementation of online safety rules, tools, and systems is uneven across the industry, with no established standards or action. That’s why we are calling on Congress to take action – and we need your help.