Many children around the world use digital tools in their everyday lives. And the use of mobile phones continues to grow – with nearly two-thirds (65%) of children between the ages of 8 and 18 now using one. This connectivity is enriching young people’s lives – but it also means increasing accessibility to the internet, which can compromise children’s safety, both online and off.
While children have always been exposed to violence and abuse - and ICTs are not in and of themselves harmful, they have changed the opportunity, scale, scope, form and impact of violence against children.
In the online world, some of the risks children face include invasive forms of bullying and harassment; posting of highly personal information including sexualised images/videos; new opportunities for adults to prey on the vulnerability of children for sexual solicitation (“online grooming”); child sexual abuse material and user-generated content.
And many more instances of violence against children go unheard. In Latin America and the Caribbean particularly, few acts of violence or abuse against children are investigated and in those that are, the perpetrators are rarely held accountable. Over 200,000 children contacted helplines in 2012 and 2013 in the region, according to Child Helpline International. In 19% of cases, children requested help in suspected cases of violence or abuse.
Research (pdf) from UNICEF shows that children move seamlessly between the online and offline world; the distinction between these environments has increasingly become meaningless. They are often first adopters of new technology and this makes them particularly vulnerable. So what role does technology play in protecting children online and off?
Prevention is key and starts in homes. In the same way that we prepare children to move independently in the real world we need to prepare them to meet the online world. Prevention is not prohibition, but we need to educate, dialogue with and orient children in order to create resilience against constantly evolving threats in online and offline environments.
Collaboration across sectors, with governments and through public-private partnerships, is also very important. On a global scale, one such example is WeProtect, a worldwide alliance led by the UK government and supported by 50 countries, 30 NGOs and 20 leading technology companies to tackle online child sexual abuse and exploitation.
Some us tools
In Latin American and the Caribbean, some multi-stakeholder, innovative solutions have been built around the use of technologies.
In major Brazilian cities, Proteja Brasil allows users to anonymously report cases of violence. The app uses location data to provide telephone numbers, addresses and best routes to access organisations that help protect children, such as police stations and protection counsels.
Another mobile app in Costa Rica, Empodérate, educates children on their rights and enables them to report abuse, request information and contact emergency services. There’s also the Ananda alert which is Jamaica’s version of the US Amber alert. This system is designed to work with public and private sectors, civil society and communities to help law enforcement quickly find missing children. It also allies with communication networks and media houses to publicise information on both missing and recovered children.
Meanwhile, ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and the Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes) develops technical tools for police, immigration officials, and other NGOs to help battle sexual exploitation of children in the region. The NGO also researches the roots of the problem in order to design targeted interventions, and as a global network, supports collaborative action.
The role of the private sector
In the private sector, the GSMA – which represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide – has been working closely with UNICEF to promote the Child Online Protection (COP) guidelines within the entire mobile ecosystem. The guidelines provide advice on how industry, educators and policymakers can ensure children’s safety in the digital era. Partnering too with the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC), Interpol, International Association of Internet Hotlines (INHOPE), and other corporate allies, they are supporting multi-stakeholder engagement and training – such as workshops and webinars – to provide practical support on implementing these guidelines throughout the region, in support of a more coherent and coordinated response.
“We have been travelling around different countries in Latin America to get policymakers, industry representatives and NGOs around the same table to talk about best practices, form alliances and agree on the next steps required in each country to best protect child rights,” says Mauro Accurso, communications and sustainability manager for Latin America at the GSMA.
Technology companies in particular have an important responsibility in tackling this issue, as it is through their networks and services that child sexual abuse content is circulated. Creating and promoting hotlines ensures that offensive content is blocked and deleted faster. Countries like Peru and Colombia already have advanced blocking systems in place, and other countries are not far behind.
The GSMA’s WeCare campaign supports initiatives that enable the mobile industry to protect children in countries across the region. “For example, Costa Rican mobile operators made the national child helpline toll free; it is a simple step but it makes a huge difference for abused children trying to reach the helpline,” Accurso says.
In the digital realm and beyond, everyone has a role to play in protecting children - whether that’s ensuring there’s no child labour within the supply chain, or safeguarding the children that use a company’s services. “If you take a mining company in Bolivia and a telecoms company in Costa Rica, they touch the lives of children in a different way,” says Stefan Stefansson, regional chief of partnerships at UNICEF. “But the basic principles are the same, and we really want to promote the idea that everybody is responsible for protecting the lives of children.”
There are three steps to this approach, Stefansson explains. The first is for companies to ensure that they don’t have practices that harm children or violate their rights. “Then it’s about looking at their environment, their customers, and looking at the families of their staff and expanding the circle a little bit.” The third step is for them to advocate for children in general, to impact not only their business, but society as a whole. As the COP guidelines note: “the internet knows no boundaries, and our efforts to protect children must be ambitious and far-ranging.”
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