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IGF 2023 WS #358 Online Abuse $ Child Sexual Exploitation in the digital era

    Subtheme

    Cybersecurity, Cybercrime & Online Safety
    Online Hate Speech and Rights of Vulnerable People

    Organizer 1: Athena Morgan, 🔒

    Speaker 1: Athena Morgan, Civil Society, African Group
    Speaker 2: Wilson Macharia, Civil Society, African Group
    Speaker 3: Winnie Mungai , Private Sector, African Group
    Speaker 4: Dr. Beck Banda, Civil Society, African Group
    Speaker 5: Juliet Obiora, Civil Society, African Group

    Moderator

    Winnie Mungai , Private Sector, African Group

    Online Moderator

    Winnie Mungai , Private Sector, African Group

    Rapporteur

    Juliet Obiora, Civil Society, African Group

    Format

    Break-out Group Discussions - 90 Min

    Policy Question(s)

    A. What provisions should be non-negotiable in coming up with laws that protect children while interacting with technology and the internet?
    B. How can governments work together to prosecute perpetrators of online child abuse especially if the victim and perpetrator are from different jurisdictions?
    C. What measures can be put in place to aid children from vulnerable backgrounds, such as children living in poverty and children with disabilities from falling prey to online scams and abuse?

    What will participants gain from attending this session? 1. A better understanding of the threats children are likely to face online, especially sexual abuse and trafficking.
    2. Better understanding of the intersectionality of online grooming and sexual exploitation of children.
    3. Opportunities and threats for children with disabilities when interacting with technology.
    4. Role of all stakeholders including technology manufacturing companies in observing the best interest of the child in product development and rollout.

    Description:

    The session will focus on the threats paused against children in the digital era, especially solicitation for sexual abuse and trafficking for children for abuse in the tourism industry. It is evident that children from poor and marginalized backgrounds including children with disability are more likely to to fall prey to online abuse. The session will agitate for the need for collaborative effort to create awareness and prevent online abuse of children, push for stricter policies to deal with online abuse, push for international collaboration; seeing that the internet is one global village and finally and speak to the importance of psychosocial support for victims of online abuse

    Expected Outcomes

    We expect the participants to be more aware of the opportunities and threats children are likely to face online.
    The participants should be able to apply the lessons learnt to champion for change within their institutions and countries to ensure children are safe from abuse and sexual exploitation on the online platform.
    They should be able to integrate and champion for the use of technology to make the lives of children with disabilities easier while protecting them from threats.
    Hold webinars, meetings and even do publications (with connections made at the IGF) that analyze the situation of Online Child Abuse in their respective countries.

    Hybrid Format: The interaction will be smoothly facilitated by a facilitator who is aware of how to balance the online and offline attendees.
    Onsite, we shall have short group discussions while online, we shall have breakout groups to discuss the issues in question.
    We plan to use closed captions to cater for the needs of individuals with hearing impairment and those who are slow of understanding to keep up with the presentations. We shall also do detailed power point presentations to ensure that all the important aspects of the presentations are well understood.