Preventing violence against children online through awareness of cybersecurity
UNICEF and partners raise the awareness of young people and adolescents on cyberbullying and cybersecurity
- Available in:
- Հայերեն
- English
We met Marianna Stepanyan, 17, at a public discussion event in Vanadzor organized by UNICEF and the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Women, to raise awareness of safe behaviors online and how to prevent violence against children. “One thing I know for sure is that our photos and posts on Instagram speak so much about us. It’s true that I trust everyone so quickly, as I think that if I am a good and kind person, then others will be so too. Today I realized that the ‘trust but verify’ approach is crucial in an online setting as well,” shared Marianna.
Narek and Sargis, 15, from Vanadzor Polytechnic High School helped us list the tips and tricks to stay safe online – “Think of a strong password and never provide it to anyone, do not share your place of residence online or school details and other personal information.”
“I will not change my passwords. I think I have invented rather complex passwords,” shared Sarkis. “And I will download the SafeYou app to learn more protection tips,” added Narek.
“We have a very little understanding of the risks in cyberspace, so we must be capable of filling those gaps, inform children, especially adolescents, about this and give them the tools to do so. It is crucial that professionals working with children are similarly aware of this and teach them about all the “do-s” and “don't-s” in the cyberspace,”
“Cyberspace does not recognize age, gender, religion, or nationality. Here we are either protected or unprotected. We learn, we play, attend training in the virtual space. All of these activities might take us to vague places online where we need to be well equipped to protect ourselves,”
Anahit further noted that children and adolescents are increasingly playing games with an instant messaging section for online communication with other players. This gives the opportunity to get confidential or personal information through casual miscellaneous questions to a child without her or him noticing that they are putting their wellbeing at risk.
As the panelists pointed out, cybersecurity standards are a must for everyone, however, as it’s the case in the real world, children are more vulnerable in the digital world. Therefore, security standards must be taught, first of all, to children, in particular young women and men, who are prone to taking specific risks in the virtual space that may expose them to sexual harassment.
“We should always remember that what cannot be told to a stranger, perhaps should not be published at all: we need to think twice before we post, Just as we are protected on the street, if we know the traffic rules, similarly, we need to know the general rules of surfing the Internet to avoid dangerous situations.”
The SafeYou application was one of the tools that was presented during the panel discussion in Vanadzor. Together with the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Women and other partners, UNICEF is working to enrich the application with new content on protection and other issues. In addition, the application provides a unique feature to immediately signal about a dangerous situation you are to the police and social services. In the past few months, the application has sported a number of articles for adolescents and young people, including on cyberviolence and cybersecurity.
“The SafeYou app contains information about the network of organizations providing specialized services on violence prevention and protection. With the support of UNICEF, age-appropriate articles for women and adolescent girls are regularly uploaded to the mobile app to raise awareness on gender-based violence prevention and protection-related matters,”
So, if you are reading this, here are a number of resources that you should review and be aware of:
- Download the SafeYou application today and get to know its functionalities and resources on cybersecurity;
- 5 ways to help keep your child’s online experiences positive and safe
- What can parents do to protect their children in the digital world?
- 10 tips to help teens stay safe online
The programme is funded by UN COVID-19 Response and Recovery Multi-Partner Trust Fund.