The online environment, increasingly dangerous for minors

The online environment is becoming increasingly dangerous for minors. The data is worrying. The proliferation in the online environment of images depicting sexual abuse of children or those presenting harmful content increased in the first quarter of the year, according to an investigation by Save the Children. According to the organization, the overwhelming majority of reports processed by the organization's experts concerned materials containing elements of sexual abuse. From the total of 3,439 reports, between January 1 and April 30, 3,356 were materials that fall under the category of sexual abuse of children. 3,359 of the processed notifications were sent to the specialized officers of the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police (IGPR). Of the total number of processed reports, 3,161 are self-generated materials by minors themselves. Most victims are female (3,158 reports). A total of 169 reports showed victims under the age of ten. Save the Children Romania experts worked together with representatives of the National Authority for Administration and Regulation in Communications and IGPR, as well as with the international partners INHOPE, Save the Children Europe, Sweden, Spain, Albania and Denmark, to develop a plan of measures and actions what must be done to protect children in the online environment, especially against sexual abuse on the Internet. To help parents have a better understanding of online dangers and to offer them support in supporting children and teenagers in their safe browsing on the Internet, Save the Children Romania launched the "Story of Abuse" campaign. This campaign presents a series of six audio-video clips that reproduce conversations between abusers and victims, inspired by real cases. According to a report by INHOPE, in 2023, at the level of this network there was an increase from 11% in 2022 to 16% in 2023 in terms of reports on content with sexual abuse of children. The majority of victims of child sexual abuse content continue to be predominantly in the age range of 3-13 years.