With the development of new technology, online child abuse and exploitation are becoming increasingly worrying phenomena in Madagascar.
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) leave children vulnerable to new and evolving forms of sexual exploitation. Child sex offenders can be particularly manipulative, convincing and persistent in their efforts to exploit children. They can take advantage of the internet and online tools to contact and lure potential victims, generate child sexual abuse materials online, upload them and distribute them. According to a study on online sexual exploitation of children carried out by National center for missing and exploited children (NCMEC) in 2021, 79,174 child criminal content was detected in Madagascar. “They concern, among other things, direct sexual abuse online, live streaming, photos or videos. Following the recent alert from the Office for Minors in France concerning the presence of numerous child criminal content, potentially involving Malagasy children, ECPAT France called on France to position itself in favor of a European regulation against online sexual abuse », according to Ambininarisoa Raveloarison, program/operational manager at ECPAT (End child prostitution and trafficking) France Madagascar. This regulation aims, among other things, to make internet platforms responsible for removing child criminal content online and reporting it. French President Emmanuel Macron, during the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Paris on December 10, affirmed his support for this regulation.
Ambassador. To make herself heard, Andraina Mahatanasoa, young ambassador for children’s rights within ECPAT France, sounded the alarm in Paris on December 7 and 8. It was a conference on development and human rights organized by the French Development Agency (AFD). She met the French president to present her fight for children’s rights in Madagascar. “This allowed me to address the crucial issue of child sexual abuse and exploitation. It was also the time to make recommendations in favor of children. Enforcing children’s rights remains a daily battle since many are still out of school and living in poverty. witness Andraina Mahatanasoa.
Organized by Rakotobe
