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13.05.2009Child helplines included as an essential tool for child protection in Rio Declaration
World Congress III against the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents was held in November 2008 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. CHI participated at this important international conference and a preparatory meeting that was held in Nepal. CHI highlighted the important work that child helplines do to prevent and address child sexual exploitation around the world.
This role was recognised in the outcome document of the conference, the Rio Declaration and Call for Action. Child helplines are mentioned twice in the document. CHI is very pleased with this and hopes that will help to further highlight the important work that child helplines perform to protect the rights of all children. By improving the protection system, child sexual exploitation can be prevented and victims can be helped better. Child helplines are an important factor in to achieve these goals and this important document acknowledges this. Child helplines reach out to children who are at risk and provides assistance to children who are in need. By implementing the recommendations in this document, the world can made a safer place for children and children can be shielded from sexual exploitation. The outcome document, in paragraph 47, calls upon all states to “Develop or enhance accessibility of existing telephone or web-based help lines, in particular for children in care and justice institutions, to encourage children and require care givers to confidentially report sexual exploitation and seek referral to appropriate services, and ensure that the operators of such reporting mechanisms are adequately trained and supervised.”. In paragraph 62 the calls upon all states to “Join efforts with Governments, UN agencies, national and international NGOs, and other stakeholders to prevent the production and dissemination of child pornography, including virtual images and the sexually exploitative representation of children, and stop the use of the Internet and new technologies for the grooming of children into online and off-line abuse; undertake actions to trace and stop the flow of financial transactions for sexual exploitation of children through the services of financial institutions; support efforts to address the demand for sexual exploitation of children in prostitution and the strengthening of services for children victims and their families, including the establishment of accessible telephone or web-based help lines; and provide support for educational and awareness-raising campaigns targeting children, parents, teachers, youth organizations and others working with and for children, on the risks of sexual exploitation of children, sexually exploitative use of the Internet, mobile phones and other new technologies as well as on protective measures.” The World Congress against the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents is the biggest international conference on this subject. Two previous editions were organised in 1996 in Stockholm, Sweden, and in 2001 in Yokohama, Japan. |
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