ChildFund launches child online safety project in Kenya
07/09/2024

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ChildFund has launch the Safe Community Linkages for Internet Child Safety (Safe CLICS) Project at the cost of $1 million to keep children safe from online child predators while using the internet. The 3-year project funded by Ending Violence Against Children (EVAC) will systematically strengthen Kenyan government agencies’ capacity to prevent and respond to Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (OCSEA), improve children’s self-protection skills with the support of caregivers and communities, strengthen public awareness of OCSEA and connections to reporting and referral services.
The project will focus on OCSEA hotspots in Nairobi and Mombasa: seven sub-counties of Nairobi County: Starehe, Langata, Kibra, Embakasi West, Embakasi South, Embakasi Central and Embakasi South, and Kikuyu sub-county in Kiambu County, bordering Nairobi; six sub-counties of Mombasa: Likoni, Mvita, Changamwe, Kisauni, Nyali and Jomvu, and the adjacent sub-county of Kikambala, Kilifi County. The project will center on 60 communities and schools with an estimated population of 200,000 students at risk of online and offline CSEA.
Speaking at the launch Chief Guest Shem Nyakutu who is the Secretary, Department of Children Services (DCS) reminded all that “The Internet has brought untold benefits to our lives and present vast opportunities and possibilities for children to learn and play. There are however exists risks and vulnerabilities online. The DCS is always happy to be part of campaigns such as Safe CLICS that will play its part in bringing together partners from all sectors to create a safe, secure and empowering online experience for children. It is sad to note that African children are faced with enormous challenges with regards to access and use of the internet with studies on child safety and security indicating that a quarter of African children with internet access are exposed to sexually explicit materials with only 24 percent of the children reporting such incidences.
ChildFund Country Director Alice Anukur said “Through the Safe CLICS Project, ChildFund and its Partners; Childline Kenya and LifeSkills Promoters are committed to strengthen the national infrastructure through lobbying and advocacy for increased resources around child online protection, strengthen collaboration and coordination among social service providers and increase the capacity of the child protection social service providers to effectively prevent and respond to online child sexual exploitation and abuse”.
The importance of the digital environment to children’s lives and rights has been emphasized by the United Nations’ Committee on the Rights of the Child, which stresses that, spending time online inevitably brings unacceptable risks and threats of harm, some of which children also encounter in other settings and some of which are unique to the online context. Unprecedented access to the cyber space exposes children to online child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Through this collaboration, the consortium seeks to build the capacity of the children and youth on the risks of the digital environment, strengthen online self-protection skills, and access to effective referral mechanisms. The Community Based Child Protection Mechanisms (CBCPM) will also be strengthened to prevent and respond to OCSEA.
ChildFund and its implementing partners are optimistic of greater collaboration among various government stakeholders, industry, civil society organizations and international organizations in the child protection space for collective synergies that will safeguard the welfare of children.
About ChildFund
ChildFund is a child-focused international development organization that works across 28 counties in Kenya to connect children with the people, resources and institutions they need to grow up healthy, educated, skilled, and safe, wherever they are.
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