CHILD ONLINE SAFETY TOOLKIT
5RIGHTS
5 THINGS TO CONSIDER
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The things every policy maker should consider This section explores five cross-cutting themes that policy makers should think about when designing, developing and implementing child online safety policies.
FIVE THINGS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Identifying risk and mitigating harm Promoting access, accessibility and inclusion Building a chain of responsibility and collaboration Integrating child-centred design Ensuring effectiveness
Each of these issues should be considered when implementing the ten policy action areas on page no. 38. 1. Identifying risk and mitigating harm:
Opportunities provided by the digital environment play an increasingly crucial role in children’s development and may be vital for children’s life and survival, especially in situations of crisis. States parties should take all appropriate measures to protect children from risks to their right to life, survival and development. Risks relating to content, contact, conduct and contract encompass, among other things, violent and sexual content, cyberaggression and harassment, gambling, exploitation and abuse, including sexual exploitation and abuse, and the promotion of or incitement to suicide or life-threatening activities, including by criminals or armed groups designated as terrorist or violent extremist. States parties should identify and address the emerging risks that children face in diverse contexts, including by listening to their views on the nature of the particular risks that they face. Source: General comment No. 25 (2021), para 1437 Child online safety strategies must be developed primarily to maximise the benefits children can gain from digital technologies. This necessarily means that there is a prime responsibility to mitigate risks, minimise the likelihood of harm occurring, address harms where they have occurred, and consider how products and services may impact the end user, if that user is (or is likely to be) a child. Designing products and services that anticipate the safe participation of children is key.
37.
General comment No. 25 (2021) on children’s rights in relation to the digital environment, UNCRC, 2021.
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