Georgia participating in European Day against Sexual Abuse of Children
Child abuse cases have decreased in Georgia by almost 30 per cent, with 1,146 cases reported in January and August 2020. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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On the occasion of the 6th European Day on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, the Council of Europe has raised the topic of preventing risky behaviour by children related to self-generating sexual images and/or videos especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejcinovic Buric said that during the Covid-19 related lockdowns children tend to play and chat online more than before which gives child offenders online more opportunity for phishing via email or unsolicited contacts on social media.
In addition, travel restrictions have pushed a lot of child sexual abuse online... Children have little knowledge of the risks they are exposing themselves to. Once online, images and videos deleted are very hard to fully remove from the web. Children can easily fall into the trap of online child sex offenders who solicit their victims to post more images or videos”, she said.
Spokesperson of the Council of Europe Daniel Holtgen shared some of Buric's quotes on his Twitter account:
"There is a dark side to children's selfies: children share self-generated sexual nature images and videos without thinking these images can one day escape their control. And the danger is growing” - @CoE Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić #EndChildSexAbuseDay pic.twitter.com/laDKB6ftuD
— Daniel Holtgen (@CoESpokesperson) November 18, 2020
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić on #EndChildSexAbuseDay:
— Daniel Holtgen (@CoESpokesperson) November 18, 2020
“Children can’t fully understand the risks of sharing images/videos of sexual nature. Once online, they are hard to fully remove from the web; children can easily fall into the trap of online child sex offenders” pic.twitter.com/upCtGtgrFk
Georgia is a signatory country of the Council of Europe’s Lanzarote Committee, the body in charge of monitoring the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse.
Georgia became a party of the convention in 2015 and is one of the 47 countries that have ratified the Council of Europe’s Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (the Lanzarote Convention).
About 1,146 Child abuse cases were reported in Georgia in January-August 2020, according to the Agency for State Care and Assistance for the Victims of Human Trafficking.
The Public Defender's report says that almost every day, one child becomes a victim of sexual abuse in Georgia.
Child abuse cases have decreased in Georgia by almost 30 per cent, with 1,146 cases reported in January and August 2020.The figure stood at 1,624 in the same period of last year, IPN writes, citing the Agency for State Care and Assistance for the Victims of Human Trafficking. The majority of the cases of child abuse included psycholgical viollence, neglect and coercion.
Tbilisi City Court has sentenced an American citizen, one of nine to be tried in a child pornography case in Georgia, to 10 years in prison. The American citizen is one of the defendants in a child pornography case with whom the Tbilisi City Court has approved a plea agreement.
The Georgian parliament has adopted the Code on the Rights of the Child which UNICEF has called a ‘groundbreaking achievement’ and an important landmark for every child in Georgia.UNICEF says that the code which was developed by the Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee of the Georgian parliament with their technical support will have a long-lasting effect on the lives of children in Georgia.
A criminal group involving 11 individuals have been identified and detained on charges of children trafficking and making child pornography in a joint operation of Georgian, US, Australian law enforcers and Europol. One American and one Australian citizen are among the detainees, while others are citizens of Georgia, including the parents and relatives of the affected children.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has delivered a speech at the official event dedicated to the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, organised by the UN Women, where she said that Covid-19 has posed 'numerous challenges to our countries and societies'.
Georgian police officers have detained the grandfather of a 14-year-old girl who recently committed suicide in the Kobuleti municipality for domestic violence and threatening a minor.
Locals have set fire to the house of a father and son accused of sexually abusing an 8-year-old child in Georgia's western Samegrelo region.
Police have detained a school teacher for sexual assault against school student in Georgia’s western region of Guria.
Today is European Day of the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse. Georgia has been a signatory country of the Council of Europe’s Convention for the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse since 2015. Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejcinovic Buric has addressed the countries to ensure that children’s ‘circle of trust’ is made as safe as possible.
The first centre offering psychological and social services to child victims of violence has been launched in Georgia, with professionals working on investigation of cases and rehabilitation of minors, the Georgian Health Ministry announced on Tuesday.
The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund on Wednesday said the Centre for Psychological and Social Services for Children Victims of Violence, an institution launched by the country with the support of the UNICEF and the Estonian Government, had supported up to 190 children victims of sexual violence in the country since its opening last year.