Day: June 11, 2023

Parents have been urged to allow supervised access of mobile devices and internet services to their children which will help in keeping them up-to-date with technological advancement while protecting them from its harm.

According to a report on evidence of Online Child Sexual Abuse in Kenya dubbed ‘Disrupting Harm’ released in 2021, the most popular device to access the Internet among 12-17 years was mobile at 99 per cent, while the most popular place to access the Internet is a cyber.

Speaking during the Launch of the Day of African Child at the Garissa University, Cabinet Secretary for Labour and social protection Florence Bore in her speech read by the Secretary of Administration Benson Mugo said that the internet has provided invaluable opportunities for the realization of children’s fundamental rights and freedoms such as the right to education, freedom of expression, and freedom of association, among others.

The CS further notes that while access to the internet has ensured that some children still have access to these rights in the event of emergencies, such as the COVID 19, there are risks when children are exposed to prolonged unsupervised access to the internet online like cyberbullying and exposure to harmful content.

‘The Internet also presents risks for the infringement of children’s rights. An increase in internet usage comes with a bigger risk of children being susceptible to sexual exploitation online. Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (OCSEA) includes the use of children in pornographic activities, performances, and materials (child sexual abuse material), sexual extortion, online grooming, and exposure of children to adult pornography,’ Bore said.

‘Children’s privacy can also be compromised in the online environment due to a number of practices such as the sharing of children’s personal information by children or adults; data collection and processing by public institutions, businesses, and other organizations; and criminal activities such as identity theft,’ she added.

The CS said that the role played by parents and caregivers in child protection activities is very important and there is a need to set up programmes geared towards sensitizing them on those roles.

‘All actors including the community and children themselves need to be sensitized on how to prevent, respond to, and report incidents of child abuse to the relevant authorities including calling toll-free line Child Helpline 116,’ she said.

She called for concerted efforts towards support for victims of online child abuse, support in rehabilitation programmes for offenders, and ensuring awareness and dissemination of information and messaging.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Kenya Red Cross Society in Mombasa County has embarked on a mission to sensitize the media on disaster management towards curbing possible disasters especially during the ongoing rainy season.

Speaking to journalists during a seminar at the Mombasa offices, the Regional Manager, Kenya Red Cross Society (KRC) Hassan Musa called upon all media personalities and media houses to create more awareness to the public about KRC services.

The seminar was aimed at appraising the journalists with the day to day activities of the KRC of how they manage calamities and respond to different types of incidents that occur.

Musa said that the main challenge they were facing as KRC was the issue of blood donation. ‘We receive many calls on the daily from the public appealing for blood but we rarely receive calls from the public wanting to donate blood,’ he said.

When asked about the ongoing rains in Mombasa County, Hassan stated that this year’s rain hasn’t caused much floods but has instead brought blessings.

For the two months it has rained, farmers have planted and are waiting for the harvest season, he noted.

Anne Mucheke, Deputy Communication Coordinator ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) Nairobi Regional Delegation asked journalists and media houses to always publish truthful and factual information.

While touching on the prohibition of arbitrary arrest and right to fair trials, Mucheke encouraged the journalists saying, ‘You have a right to fair trial and have a right to protest against arbitrary arrest, they must tell you why they are arresting you’.

The deputy also reminded journalists to avoid getting involved in conflicts refrain from allying any team for their only cover is the lens and the public outcry.

Mucheke also cautioned the journalists who tended to ignore these rules while trying to outshine the rest in either getting the perfect picture or headline but ended up misinforming people or even causing harm to the public.

‘But you know there are people who follow rules and others who are just ignorant, these days as you have seen, there are so many reports, most which don’t really follow rules, they don’t even know what they’re doing, they are copying stuff everywhere,’ she pointed out.

Mucheke encouraged journalists to promote the good things our country is doing and also promote the good (KRC) is doing.

Source: Kenya News Agency