News

On 20 February 2025, EUROPOL, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, updated a public notification, based on information from intelligence, which warns of the growing phenomenon of communities of worship online dedicated to the extremely violent abuse of children.

In order to better contribute to the prevention of the commission of these crimes and so that this information can reach as many parents, entities and professionals involved in the protection of children and young people as possible, the CNPDPCJ took the initiative to produce a courtesy translation of the entirety of this Notification No. 06/2025, from EUROPOL, into Portuguese.

The document is structured in three sections, focused on:

- What happens in communities of worship, including the dissemination of content of an extreme nature and the exploitation of victims;

In the way these communities operate and recruit, using tactics as exaggerated displays of love.love bombing’) and coercion; e

- The indicators to be taken into account to detect children and young people at risk of being in this type of situation, such as secrecy, collection and exposure to disturbing content.

In case of suspicion that someone you know may be a victim of this type of crime, you should contact the police authorities to report the finding and / or for clarification of doubts.