Ida Östensson becomes new Secretary General of Child10

After more than two years as Head of Communications and Advocacy, Östensson moves on to become Child10’s Secretary-General. Former Secretary-General Jacob Flärdh will become the Foundation’s new President.

Child10 works to ensure that no child is subjected to paid sexual abuse. The organization was founded in 2014 by Sara Damber and Sophie Stenbeck to support grassroots organizations around the world that meet and support children who are victims of human trafficking and other forms of commercial sexual exploitation. Since 2019, the organization is a foundation led by Jacob Flärdh as Secretary General and Sara Damber as President.

Ida Östensson was recruited in 2020 as Head of Communication and Advocacy and has since then implemented several high-profile initiatives and campaigns such as hyrflickvän.se and nyårslöftet.nu to highlight how men find new ways to exploit children. Flärdh will now take over the chairmanship of the Foundation and Östensson will become the new Secretary General.

I am so happy that Ida Östensson will be the new Secretary General of Child10. Ida has a unique ability to create social change that really makes a difference. Handing over to Ida and being elected as the second chairman after Child10’s pioneering founder Sara Damber is a great honor, and I really look forward to continuing to lead and develop Child10’s incredibly important work together with Ida, says Jacob Flärdh.

Since its founding in 2014, Child10 has brought together and supported up to 100 organizations working in various ways to combat human trafficking and other forms of commercial sexual exploitation of children. In addition, the organization has been established internationally and, in collaboration with others, has pushed through several legislative changes and new investigations to better protect children from abuse. Child10 is now facing the next big step as much work remains to ensure that no child can be bought and subjected to sexual abuse.

“With perpetrators constantly finding new ways to exploit children, we need to work even smarter and we need even more people involved in the fight against human trafficking and other paid child abuse. With a mixture of anger, fervor and hope, I look forward to working with the staff and board to take the next step to ensure that children can never be bought,” says Ida Östensson.

The organizational changes will take effect in February 2023.

About Ida Östensson, Secretary General Child10:
Ida Östensson is the founder and chairman of the equality foundation Make Equal, co-founder of the consent movement Fatta, initiator of #Killmiddag and current with the acclaimed book “Allt vi inte ser”. Ida has won many awards for her work such as first place at Näringslivets Superkommunikatör, Folkbildare Årets and Årets Bris-pistagare.

About Jacob Flärdh, Chairman of the Board of Child10:
In addition to being Chairman of Child10, Jacob Flärdh is also Chairman of Youth2030, Chairman of the Platform Civila Sweden against Human Trafficking and a member of the Board of Friends, where he was previously Head of Research and International Operations.

About Sara Damber: Member of the Child10 Board
At the age of 19, Sara Damber founded the anti-bullying organization Friends, which has changed the way we think about how to combat bullying and harassment. Since then, Sara has founded and run the organizations Reach for Change, Youth 2030 Movement and Child10, all of which work in different ways to strengthen the rights and influence of children and young people. Sara has also led a number of change projects in the public sector – at national, regional and local level – and is a frequently hired lecturer and inspirer on issues such as civil courage and values-driven leadership.