Our lives have changed rapidly in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic and the full-scale invasion of the russian federation have established the status of the cyberspace in Ukraine as not only a source of entertainment, but also the main place where communication and learning take place.
Children are sometimes forced to become regular users of the digital environment. Often, a year after birth and until the age of adulthood, a child is online: playing, learning, developing, communicating, meeting, living.
Both the offline and online worlds are equally familiar and acceptable to children. But is online space safe for children? Are they aware of all the risks they face here? And when faced with them, will the child report them? And if they do, will they be understood, and receive proper protection and support from adults?
So, since the cyberspace is an integral part of every child's life, it is the duty of the state and adults to make sure that this space is as safe as possible.
Thanks to the support of the European Union, we have gathered key stakeholders in the area of children's safety in the cyberspace — juvenile police, cyber police, educators, NGOs, and children themselves — who have been working on solutions in their field for three years. Here we share the results of our work.
The project «Empowering Law Enforcement in Overcoming Online Violence against Children on the Internet» was implemented by the All-Ukrainian Charity «Child Well-Being Fund Ukraine», the All-Ukrainian Public Center «Volunteer» and the NGO «Labour and Health Social Initiatives» with the European Union funding.
The project lasted from January 2022 to December 2024. The pilot areas were Vinnytsia, Lviv regions, and Kyiv.
The project aims to increase the capacity of law enforcement agencies and civil society organizations to ensure children's digital rights and create effective modern tools to respond to child abuse online.
Project components:
- Increasing the capacity of law enforcement officials to build and implement an effective modern system to overcoming violence against children on the Internet.
- Development and implementation of a child-friendly mechanism for reporting online violence.
- Development of local policies and mechanisms for cooperation on overcoming violence against children on the Internet.
- Dissemination of the project's experience and best practices.
On December 10, 2024, on International Human Rights Day, our consortium of organizations, with the financial support of the European Union, is holding a conference in Kyiv called «Safe Cyberspace for Children: Creating Together«».
The conference is dedicated to prevention and ways to overcome violence against children in cyberspace. Participants will discuss various aspects of this issue and review the results of the project «Empowering Law Enforcement in Overcoming Online Violence against Children on the Internet».
The format of the conference is mixed (offline + Zoom) with a live broadcast on YouTube. The conference starts at 11:00 (Kyiv time).
The key speakers will be representatives of the National Police of Ukraine, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, local authorities and civil society.
During the event, the partners will present the following developments in the field of overcoming violence against children in the cyberspace:
- experience of training police units for preventive activities, investigation and inquiry, cyberpolice on ensuring the safety of children in cyberspace
- the results of introducing educational and preventive classes for school students;
- tools for the prevention of online violence CYBERSAFE;
- interactive tool for filing complaints about harmful content in cyberspace UNSEE;
- experience in developing and implementing mechanisms of cooperation on overcoming violence against children on the Internet and local CSO initiatives at the local level on the example of Vinnytsia, Lviv regions, and Kyiv.
The conference program with speakers' presentations is available here.
The official release of the conference is available by following link.
- Opening speech at the conference “Safe cyberspace for children: creating together”
- Educating police officers on child safety in cyberspace
- Adapting international instruments to prevent online sexual violence against teenagers
- Methods of engaging teenagers to prevent and overcome child abuse in the digital environment
For children:
The Unsee non-bot is a teen-friendly tool created jointly with the Juvenile Prevention Service of Ukraine. Here you can anonymously complain about harmful content online, consult a psychologist, or work with the police to stop online criminals (developed by the CWBF).
A series of leaflets on safe online behavior are illustrated materials that can be used as additional resources for the program «Your Safety on the Internet» or separately as part of educational work with students (developed by the NGO «All-Ukrainian Public Center “Volunteer”»).
Leaflet «How to protect your privacy on the Internet?»
Leaflet «What to do if you are being cyberbullied?»
Leaflet «How to recognize fake accounts and bots?»
Leaflet «How to set up your account to be safe?»
Animated educational videos about the consequences of online violence, created in the format of storytelling (developed by LHSI):
For professionals working with children:
A series of online courses for juvenile police officers (developed by the NGO «All-Ukrainian Public Center “Volunteer”»):
«Cybersecurity basics in personal and official affairs: practical tips» is an interactive course to increase the level of knowledge about protecting personal data online and cybersecurity tools.
«Preventing Violence Against Children on the Internet» is an educational course developed in cooperation with the EdEra online education studio, focused on developing skills in identifying and responding to threats to children in the online world.
«Educate and Protect: Effective Prevention in the Work of Juvenile Police Officers to Protect Children from Violence in Cyberspace» is a course that helps police officers expand their knowledge of the essence, principles, and new ways of preventive work with children and adults.
All online courses consist of lectures and tests. Based on the results of the final test, there is an opportunity to receive a certificate.
«Training of Police Units of Preventive Activities, Investigation and Inquiry, Cyber Police on Ensuring the Safety of Children in Cyberspace» is a training manual aimed at mastering effective strategies for protecting children from violence in cyberspace, online risks and dangers during wartime footing, as well as improving the system of child rights protection and cooperation of police units in responding to cases of online violence against children. It is intended for use by teachers who train employees of various structural units of the National Police of Ukraine (developed by the NGO “All-Ukrainian Public Center ‘Volunteer’).
«Your Safety on the Internet: Preventing Violence Against Children on the Internet and Developing Safe Online Behavior» is a program for working with students in the 1st-11th grades aimed at developing basic competencies in safe online behavior among children and youth. The program is approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (developed by the NGO “All-Ukrainian Public Center ‘Volunteer’).
A thematic lesson for schoolchildren aged 13-16 «Safe Internet Day» is a lesson script about online safety created in cooperation with the Juvenile Prevention of Ukraine. The lesson combines elements of a lecture and discussion (developed by the CWBF).
Manual «Training to prevent online sexual violence against adolescent girls» is a manual designed to prepare for educational trainings to encourage adolescents to behave safely and responsibly online (adapted by LHSI).
CYBERSAFE online tool is an online game tool adapted for the Ukrainian audience to prevent gender-based online violence and promote responsible behavior on the Internet (adapted by LHSI).
For parents and caregivers
Booklets with recommendations on how to keep children safe online (developed by the NGO “All-Ukrainian Public Center ‘Volunteer’).
«How to take care of a child's privacy on the Internet?»
«Dangers in the online space: what are they, how to distinguish and how to prevent them?»
Leaflet with tips on preventing online sexual violence (developed by LHSI)
For cyber security professionals
THE CURRENT SITUATION IN UKRAINE REGARDING COMPLAINTS AND EXISTING MECHANISMS FOR RESPONSE TO ONLINE CONTENT HARMFUL TO CHILDREN, IN PARTICULAR, VIOLENCE IN CYBERSPACE – Situational Analysis 2022 consists of four sections, which define the concept of harmful online content and violence in cyberspace; describe the experience of other countries; analyzes in detail the existing tools/mechanisms/algorithms for filing complaints and existing mechanisms for responding to online content harmful to children, including violence in cyberspace, and provides a general analysis of national legislation on existing complaint mechanisms, peculiarities of response and interaction of child rights protection actors in case of filing complaints about online content harmful to children, including violence in cyberspace.
All-Ukrainian Charity «Child Well-Being Fund Ukraine»:
All-Ukrainian Public Center «Volunteer»:
NGO «Labour and Health Social Initiatives»:
________________________________________________________________________________________
