Online safety for children a key issue

Self-isolation has driven more and more children to move online during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to an unprecedented rise in screen time and raising safety risks for millions of young people, as per the United Nations, and the issue deserves serious attention.

As pointed out by Howard Taylor, Executive Director of the Global Partnership to End Violence against Children, a public-private collaboration between UN agencies, governments, industry, regional bodies, civil society and others, school closures and strict containment measures mean more and more families are relying on technology and digital solutions to keep children learning, entertained and connected to the outside world.

But what is being forgotten is that not all children have the necessary knowledge, skills and resources to keep themselves safe online.

More than 1.5 billion children and young people have been affected by school closures worldwide.

Many are online now taking classes and socialising.

Spending more time on virtual platforms can leave children vulnerable to online exploitation as predators capitalise on the COVID-19 pandemic.

As suggested by UN officials, governments need to keep child protection services open and active during the pandemic and train health, education and social service workers on the impacts that COVID-19 may have on their well-being, including increased online risks.

They should also step up awareness raising and educational initiatives on cyber safety and provide local helplines and hotlines.

The information technology industry, including social networking platforms, should enhance online platforms with more safety measures, especially while using virtual learning tools.

On their part, schools need to update current safeguarding policies to reflect the new realities for children learning from home and ensure that they have continued access to school-based counselling services.

Parents would do well to check with their children on how and with whom they are communicating online.

The UAE has been doing an excellent job on this front.

For example, following the directives of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council, to enhance child protection programmes, the Community Development Authority, CDA, recently announced a unified hotline to provide community members with a 24-hour channel to report cases of abuse, neglect and violence against children.

The hotline helps ensure immediate follow-up of cases with clear procedures and reporting of abuse.  Through the new system, CDA will receive all reports through its 24/7 hotline (800988). Subsequently, a CDA official will evaluate the cases according to their severity. Each case will be assigned to one of its child protection specialists who would then conduct field visits and take appropriate action in coordination with the concerned entities.

CDA will handle the cases in coordination with the Dubai Police GHQ, Dubai Foundation for Women and Children, Personal Status Court, Disciplinary Court, Public Prosecution and Juvenile Prosecution based on the nature and level of abuse.

In addition to adequately monitoring the situation that ensures the best interests of the child, an integrated database for monitoring cases of abuse contributes to identifying new measures and procedures to reduce child abuse cases, exploitation and neglect, enhancing the child’s health and psychological and physical integrity. It also facilitates the appropriate follow-up required for some cases of abuse.

The initiative assumes major significance in light of the prevailing distance education policy and the current circumstances keeping children away from educational and health institutions.