Human Rights Council on the Rights of the Child: ICT and child sexual exploitation

On 7 March 2016, INHOPE attended the United Nations Human Rights Council (UN HRC) full day on the Rights of the Child at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. Preventing child sexual exploitation and enhancing children's protection through information and communication technologies was a top concern of the session, at its title clearly indicates.
Date 2016-04-22 Author INHOPE Section awareness, hotlines
The role of INHOPE and its reporting hotlines was highlighted throughout the session, with keynote interventions from three of our Advisory Board members, namely John Carr, Michael Moran (INTERPOL) and Brittany Smith (Google). INHOPE's statistics and trends on the distribution of CSAM (child sexual abuse material) were used to evidence the discussions. INHOPE's Champion for Children 2015 Ernie Allen, Chair of the WePROTECT Initiative, set the threat environment and how those threats constitute a moving target: "Prior to the internet, someone with sexual interest in children felt isolated, alone," he said. "Today, he is part of a global community. He interacts online with people of like interests worldwide. They share images, fantasies, techniques, even real children. And they do it all with virtual anonymity." Ernie Allen also highlighted the importance of the Model National Response (MNR) for countries joining the fight, and how the MNR can be adapted to the country situation and level of ICT sophistication.
 
You can watch the recorded panel session on the UN webcast.
 
From 2:43:00, John Carr talks about the importance of tech tools and the INHOPE network of reporting hotlines in the fight against online child sexual exploitation:
 
"Question of hotlines. We have a global association called INHOPE. I am on its Advisory Board. Its specific mission is to create a mechanism for people to report child sexual abuse material and other things affecting the sexual exploitation of children online. At least 140 countries around the world where there is no mechanism of that kind in place and INHOPE's mission is a very important one in trying to bridge that gap."
 
And, in this recording:
 
From 27:26 you can listen to Mick Moran (INTERPOL).
 
From 39:22, you can listen to Brittany Smith (Google).
 
Visit the INHOPE website at http://www.inhope.org.

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