Govt, CSOs unite to end cyber harassment against children

Government and Civil Society Organisations (CSO) inclined to the well-being of children in Uganda have resolved to scale up and combine efforts in curbing the escalating forms of cyber, Sexual and other forms of harassment children face through the internet.
Stakeholders this publication has talked to indicate that the soaring forms of internet based violence children are exposed to compared to the inability of majority children to report demand that quick redress is put in place to insulate the young generation.
This was one of the key resolutions arrived at after a marathon stakeholder engagement held on Friday evening as all African states marked the Day of the African Child. 
This day is commemorated every June 16, as a means of pushing for better conditions of the African Child. While major continental commemorations were held in Lusaka, Zambia on Friday, Uganda’s chapter on the same convened in Kampala to mark the day under the theme; “Promoting and protecting children's rights in the digital era.”
"We want to draw all our attention as parents and children to grave and urgent issue that requires our collective attention and immediate action. The raise of online grooming and sexual exploitation and abuse have become destructive reality in our society,” Mr Damon Kamese indicated as he spoke on behalf of the CSOs in the country.
He added: “We cannot turn a blind eye to our children's to our children being targeted and harmed in the digital realm where the boundaries for safety and dangers are blurry. We must take swift action and resolve to disrupt and protect our children from further exploitation."
In their direct concerns made to government sent through the Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development, the private sector underscored that whereas a section of children had access to internet in the preceding years, the internet based harassment was fueled by digital based learning like zoom that shifted majority of the learners to the digital platforms.
The Program Manager of the Violence Against Children department at the Raising Voices – Uganda, Ms Tabitha Suubi, said the situation is worsened by absence of child-friendly mechanisms to encourage children file their pains and concerns to elders.
She also decried of the repetitive tendency by a section of parents who intentionally publish and share photos and videos of children on social media platforms which is also a big threat to the mental and social wellbeing of the children who at times fall victim of such harassment.
The Executive Director of the National Children Authority (NCA), Mr Martin Kiiza, stated that whereas government has put in place mechanisms of ensuring that this vice is curbed, official records show that “only 5 per cent of these children who can access these vices at homestead level and at school.”  This therefore obstructs successful implementation of safety measures for children in the country.
He also revealed that his team at the NCA “discovered that parents have not taken time to really supervise and look at how children access these gadgets,” thereby creating loopholes that expose children to worse situations.
Remedies
Both government and private sector not only agree on the joint need to curb the vice but also approve of the impeding demand to do an overhaul adjustment in all mechanisms instituted to insulate children from such forms of harassment and or violence.
"We [stakeholders] must invest in comprehensive studies to better understand the scope and nature and underlining causes of the dangers at hand. This knowledge will guide our efforts and help us develop targeted interventions and protecting our children,” Mr Damon Kamese stated.
"As government we are saying that every other person should play their part in ensuring these gadgets are put to the best use," Mr Kiiza said.
Ms Tabitha Suubi advises that, “It is important that before you give your child a device for them to access or engage online, educate yourself about safety measures you can take as a parent. For instance there are safety controls you can put in place to ensure that there is control on what children engage with or access.”
MS Suubi also wants schools where children spend biggest portion of the childhood years, to institute organised systems that are well tailored to children’s needs and encourage them to report cases of harassment.
"We need to ensure that schools put up robust reporting systems [and] to change the way they [teachers] relate with children so that in case a child experiences violence or abuse online, they have a focal person or teacher [that] they can go to and report and teachers can connect them to people who can support children," Ms Suubi told Monitor in an interview.
Major players committed to protection of children also advise that regular refresher trainings of all stakeholders be conducted as a means of empowering them to better advocate for children’s rights in the country. For easier access and comprehension of the requisite literature for the said campaign, stakeholders want resources availed in local languages of policy implementers.
“Language should never be a barrier to fighting for justice. Therefore we must translate this information, education, and communication materials into local languages, creating awareness among local communities that are often left vulnerable due to lack of knowledge," Mr Kamese said.
It is not clear on when the stakeholders would draw a defined calendar or specific timelines within which to implement the aforementioned resolutions.
In October 2021, CSOs asked government to come up with measures to safe guard children against cyber harassment. Prior to the country been told of a disturbing revelation by government that at least 14,000 children had been defiled in 2020 alone.
Worse still, the Executive Director Mr Martin Kiiza had disclosed to this publication that about 17,000 cases of child abuse had been recorded in the same period.