The Right Way Forward – Safety

Children and Young people’s physical and emotional safety and wellbeing must be prioritised. The UNCRC sets out the role of government in protecting children who have been separated from their families. This section focuses on online safety and ending violence against women and girls as key areas identified by the Youth Panel.

What does the UNCRC Say?

 Governments must stop children being taken out of the country when this is against the law – for example, being kidnapped by someone or held abroad by a parent when the other parent does not agree.

 Governments must protect children from violence, abuse and being neglected by anyone who looks after them.

 The government should protect children from sexual exploitation (being taken advantage of) and sexual abuse, including by people forcing children to have sex for money, or making sexual pictures or films of them.

What other rights might be impacted?

 What else does the UNCRC Committee say about children’s rights to safety?

General Comment 13 is on freedom from all forms of violence and General Comment 25 is on children’s rights in the digital environment.

How do young people feel their right to protection from harm is being met?

Online Safety

“Eating disorder promoting content is easy to find and there are growing groups of misogynistic male groups.”

“Women are often sexualised for average posts and get harassed constantly through text.”

“Lack of education that surrounds online safety. There is an unregulated, ad hoc and piecemeal approach taken by individual schools. Why is it the case that there is a compulsory syllabus for Maths, the contents of which are unlikely to be used again past GCSE when there is no proper regulated guidance on the safe use of social media which is almost universally used by all?”

“Many of our parents did not grow up in the online world and I know that my own parents feel blindsided by the risks that we are subject to and that there is a lack of parental guidance. Young people are in an online world of Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram that some parents feel overwhelmed and short of simply banning the use of this media, they do not have many more answers to help us.”

“How can we uphold the UNCRC Article 13 of the right to freedom of expression while also upholding the Article 16 right to privacy for young people online? It is a balancing act. Is it possible on the one hand to enjoy the advantages of the online world such as creativity, socialisation, to spread awareness or to advocate for causes along with upholding the right for young people to enjoy privacy, safety from harm and to have control over their own image and words? We have explored the possibility of a virtual online passport in NSPCC Voice of Online Youth, but this would require the input and support of politicians, government departments and social media companies working together. Can we gather up the confetti of our online presence and piece it back together into a robust, safely controlled mass? There are so many benefits to being online but it needs to be a safer place.”

“Another major concern for young people relates to Artificial Intelligence. It is moving faster than a dog chasing a treat. It is simply becoming impossible for my human eye to distinguish what is real and what is fake online. This confusion and uncertainty for us as we may think we are dealing with or talking to a person or organisation who is not what they seem. There is a real risk of sacrificing ourselves to someone or something without really knowing who or what they are. And this may lead further down the line to a lack of faith in the online world that may create a cynicism in my generation that inevitably spills over into our real lives.”

“NICCY Youth Panel has identified several specific online risks as most harmful to children post-pandemic:

–              Sexual risks and exploitation: Increased exposure to sexual content, requests for nude images, and being sent inappropriate photos, with girls particularly at risk. Risks included being pressured to engage in risky behaviour or interact with strangers, sometimes leading to grooming or exploitation. These risks were exacerbated by increased time spent online during and after the pandemic, and disproportionately affected vulnerable groups, including girls and those with pre-existing mental health conditions.

–              Algorithms: Teenagers regularly tell us they receive suggested content based on their gender and age. For young women there are frequently targeted with content on appearance and conformity, young men are finding increasing content from a misogynist take on issues.

–              Adults lacking skill and literacy: Young people are much more advanced in navigating the online world. They tell us that it is not enough to try and prevent them from accessing it as this will just make it more hidden. Young people need the skills to navigate safely, and parents and carers need the language and skills to talk to their children about what they are experiencing online.

–              Cyberbullying: A significant number of children reported experiencing unpleasant or nasty interactions online, often on social media apps.

–              Exposure to harmful content: This includes violent content, self-harm, eating disorder promotion, and pornography. Girls were notably more likely to encounter self-harm and eating disorder content.

–              Emotional and psychological impacts: Repeated or cumulative exposure to harmful content led to anxiety, low self-esteem, body image issues, and in severe cases, self-harm or disordered eating.”

Ending Violence Against Women and Girls

“In [my school] there were several boys doing upskirting, but nothing was done about it. The girls were embarrassed to make complaints because of what boys would then say about them. Then they started lifting girls skirts up to embarrass them because they thought it was funny. I know this is to do with more than uniform but if there is an easy solution that protects girls while they do the rest of the work to challenge attitudes then why not take it?”

“Girls often get unwanted attention from boy and men. It’s all the time. Nearly every day you get comments or whistles. I just want to be comfortable and feel safe.”

“Because this is a long going problem that never seems to solve and many women and children die or end up severely injured due to the abuse or harassment, they endure left broken, traumatised, suicidal and numb.”

“If society agrees and promotes the message that violence against women and girls must not be tolerated, and if police or teachers in school remind everyone to report if they have been subject to or witnessed women or children being abused, then people will be reassured and frequently reminded they are doing the right thing when reporting it.”

“I would spread the message with women and children who have suffered this, and we would tell their stories. I would then go into secondary schools and spread the word as well as other places. I would then discuss with local nightclubs on the topic and for there to be more surveillance and finally I would arrange a service where women and children can ring and tell us what they have endured then the police would handle the matter and the victim of it would get the right treatment.”

“Going to an all-boys school, I think education and understanding is needed as our only outlet to understanding women and relationships are from the media, a lot of which can be harmful. Toxic masculinity and sexism are quite at large and this can often be seen as the “way it should be”, as I think most boys don’t understand feminism and see female rights as an attack on their own.”

What do we want to happen?

• Make sure children, young people and their carers are educated with relevant, up to date information on how to keep safe online.
• Easier and more effective ways to report online abuse or misogyny.
• Protect children’s right to access to information by policing the companies allowing online harm to happen and individuals who seek to harm, not restrict potential victims.
• Normalise respect for women and girls at a young age and throughout education and sports.
• Education for children and young people on healthy relationships.
• Properly resource a long term action plan as part of the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.

You can find out more about NICCY’s work on safeguarding here.