As part of the GSMA “We Care Guatemala” campaign and with the support of UNICEF, operators Claro, Movistar and Tigo will join forces to drive prevention and detection actions to protect children from violence through the use of ICT and in other contexts.
Guatemala City. Claro, Movistar and Tigo today signed a letter of commitment, with the support of the GSMA (global association of the mobile ecosystem) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), to join forces to protect children and adolescents from violence and sexual exploitation online. The announcement is part of the country’s mobile industry “We Care Guatemala” campaign, which will include actions to protect children by preventing and detecting violence through the use of information and communications technology (ICT) and in other contexts.
In 2016 the Public Ministry received 48,050 reports of offences against children at a rate of 132 per day, including 12,800 for child abuse, 7,353 for sexual violence and 12 for trading in and publishing child abuse images. The most frequent online offences are sexual violence, human trafficking, extortion, sexting, grooming and bullying. In Guatemala more than 300 cases involving sexual violence, exploitation and human trafficking of children and adolescents online are currently under investigation. Through the coordinated work of government and private sector agencies, 41 people have been arrested, leading to 10 convictions with sentences of up to 40 years for child abuse images, paedophilia and human trafficking.
“Target 16.2 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals urges us to end all forms of abuse and violence against children. We congratulate the mobile operators of Guatemala for joining forces through the We Care campaign in their efforts to protect children in the online world,” said Sebastián Cabello, Head of GSMA Latin America.
Today’s digital ecosystem is a tool children can use to exercise their rights, such as access to information, freedom of expression, the right to develop creativity and facilitate learning processes, be entertained, meet and share views with others, report offences, propose new solutions to the problems they face and participate in social discussion. The We Care campaign aims to promote a safe digital environment and responsible digital citizenship so that children can fully exercise their rights in the online environment.
“The wonderful world of internet and new technologies, combined with the digital gap between generations, poses real risks for the lives and the integrity of children connected online. It is the task of everyone to take preventive action and protect every child and adolescent from cybercrime and abuse,” said Mariko Kagoshima, representative of UNICEF Guatemala.
During the Child and Adolescent Online Protection seminar, held today in Guatemala, Claro, Movistar and Tigo directors pledged to:
• Drive actions to promote safe, responsible and productive use of digital technologies by the general population.
• Identify, prevent and mitigate the negative effects of ICT (information communications technologies) on child and adolescent rights and identify opportunities to support the promotion of child rights.
• Help to create a safer, more user-friendly digital environment for children of all ages by promoting parental control and other systems or methods to block or filter inappropriate content for children and adolescents.
• Participate in and encourage responsible and safe digital citizenship by encouraging education and training measures through the services provided by operators.
• Promote mechanisms for reporting threats to child and adolescent online rights and the violation of these rights.
• Create a space for exchanging good practices and lessons learned on child and adolescent protection from all kinds of online violence.
This is the second announcement of the “We Care Guatemala” campaign, launched in October 2016 through a cooperation agreement between Claro, Movistar and Tigo in collaboration with the GSMA, Guatemalan Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to work together to make telecommunications services available for natural disaster preparedness and response.
The GSMA We Care campaign is an initiative of the leading mobile operators in Latin America to ensure all their users can enjoy the life-changing benefits of mobile technology in a safe and secure environment. To achieve this, operators have decided to join forces as an industry and take on a series of commitments in every country in the region where mobile phones and networks can provide solutions to social problems. We Care has already been launched with several initiatives in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, and will continue to expand throughout the region.