How to protect children from sexual abuse online

As part of the all-Ukrainian information campaign "Sexual Violence on the Internet: How to Protect Children" - a joint initiative of the NGO "Docudays" and the VGO "Magnolia", a workshop was held on June 8 at the Docudays Ua International Film Festival "How to recognize and combat child sexual abuse online".

The participants of the discussion were: Evelina Chornobai, Lawyer of the NGO "La Strada - Ukraine", Anastasia Bagalika, Moderator, journalist, director of the Human Rights Department of the NGO "Dokudays", Mariana Hevko, psychologist, expert in the information campaign "Sexual violence on the Internet: how to protect children".

During the workshop, guests learned how to recognize the risks of sexual violence on the Internet and effectively counteract them, and also learned what exactly are such phenomena as sexting, sextortion, online grooming, cyberbullying, and stalking on the Internet. Maryana Hevko explained what is hidden under each type of sexual violence on the Internet. Much attention was paid to the behavioral characteristics of adolescents, as well as recommendations that can help parents understand their children and the motives of their actions.

In turn, Evelina Chornobay explained the intricacies of Ukrainian legislation and algorithms for bringing perpetrators to justice, as well as provided examples of appeals that children and youth make to the National Hotline for Children and Youth and explained how consultants of the National Hotline for Children and Youth can help subscribers protect their rights in the event of sexual violence against them on the Internet.

The full recording of the workshop can be found at link