The Attorney General Office (PGR) in coordination with the Ministry of the Presidency’s Center for National Cybersecurity Center (CNCS) announced the launching of an online platform where students and children can denounce sexual abuse and bullying cases. Videos and images of sexual abuse of children and teenagers can be uploaded to the site. The online platform is associated with Unicef, the Internet Watch Foundation and Interpol.
“The launch of the online child sexual abuse content reporting portal is an important step in addressing these risks and provides us with a valuable tool to report and take action against those who seek to harm our children. We encourage everyone to use this portal and work together to protect our children and adolescents from online dangers,” said Iván Féliz Vargas, director of the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office Against Crimes and High Tech Crimes, speaking on behalf of the Attorney General of the Republic, Miriam Germán Brito, at the launch held at the PGR’s Meeting Room.
Féliz described this launch as a historic day in the fight against online child sexual abuse in the Dominican Republic. He recalled that sexual predators use the anonymity provided by the Internet to approach children and youths, posing as friends or trustworthy people. He said: “It is our responsibility as adults, parents, mothers educators and community leaders to ensure that our children and youth are safe, monitor online content, educate them about the potential dangers and provide them with the necessary resources to report any suspicious or inappropriate situation.”
Dr. Rosa Elcarte, representative of Unicef in the Dominican Republic, said: “It is very important that we are all aware that we should not share materials that show sexual crimes against girls and boys”.
Unicef and Plan International have backed the creation of other digital tools for prevention and protection on the Internet. There is an E-Pana platform that in a fun and interactive way teaches children how to protect themselves on the Internet, and E-Mentors for parents, guardians and teachers to accompany children and adolescents to make good use of the Internet. These tools are hosted on the Ministry of Education’s website. See links below.
Likewise, both entities were responsible for the contents and support material of the “Apréndete la clave” campaign with information for adolescents and their families to develop skills and react to online aggression or harassment.
Read more:
Sexual Abuse Online page
Attorney General Office
Attorney General Office
Internet Watch Foundation
N Digital
E Pana https://educrecursos.minerd.gob.do/epana/
26 April 2023