AMMAN —
The Justice Center for Legal Aid (JCLA) in Jordan launched a campaign to promote internet safety for children over the past week in collaboration with the Norwegian Refugee Council and funded by the
European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).
اضافة اعلان
The campaign, under the slogan of “Child-Friendly Net”, aimed to spread awareness about the dangers of the internet at a time when
online activity is indispensable.
Hadeel Abdelaziz, executive director of the JCLA, told
Jordan News that the campaign originated as a response to a widespread issue within the community.
“Raising legal awareness has always been part of our work at JCLA and children are one of our targeted segments. With distance learning, the dangers of the internet have increased. It is now harder for parents to put limitations and rules on children’s online activity,” Abdelaziz said.
With daily routines shifted by the pandemic, children are at a higher risk of being exposed of harmful material on the web. The goal of the project, according to her, is to educate children and their parents on safe internet practices because ignorance complicates the problem.
The campaign received funding from ECHO, the European Commission’s department for overseas humanitarian aid.
Abdelaziz explains that the issue of internet safety concerns children who could either be victims of cyberbullying and harassment or perpetrators of electronic crimes.
“Usually, children commit an electronic crime but are unaware of it. It is out of innocence. This includes the use of fake names or images and the spread of inappropriate content,” she said.
She also noted that creating and sharing illegal content result in the same legal consequences. She continued by saying that “a lot of our children can be put in situations where they participate in illegal actions. So, we need to understand the law.”
Moreover, the executive director told
Jordan News, cases of online sexual harassment have increased, in addition to the crimes against morals and public decency.
“Parents have to be more aware. Schools must learn to regulate their online platforms in order to avoid the creation of false accounts and the use of unconsented media. Teachers must be trained to develop technical skills required of online learning,” she said.
Abdelaziz stated that the official campaign ended but the JCLA is still open to receiving questions, complaints, and consultations. Additionally, the Family Protection Department and the Cyber Crimes Unit are specialized in addressing such issues.
She concluded by saying that parents cannot prevent the issue, but they can provide a safe space for their children to approach them with these problems. She also emphasized that collaboration is needed from all involved parties in order to make the internet safer for children.
“The law is not the main factor in this issue. There must be efforts from social, educational and mental aspects. Ask for help. We need to work together as a society,” she said.
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