The need to immediately implement sex education in schools so that children can be empowered and protected against sexual exploitation and abuse, noted today Mariella Aristidou, chairwoman of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and Equal Opportunities.
The committee met today at the Conference Center to be informed, as it said in its statements to KYPE, about the progress of the National Commission for the fight against sexual abuse and exploitation of children and child pornography.
The National Strategy for the years 2016-2019 has been completed and a new national strategy has already been prepared for the next three years. He noted that some of the existing actions will continue to exist within the new three years.
It is very important, he said, to create the new SOS application through which a victim can, at the touch of a button, request immediate intervention from the Police if they encounter violence.
This application, he said, is expected to be launched in the coming days and another very important action is the creation of a center for adult victims that will offer psychological and counseling services. The management will be undertaken by the non-governmental organization, the Cyprus Family Planning Association.
Ms. Aristeidou also referred to the change of daily life lately, due to the measures taken to limit the spread of the coronavirus. "Based on the information we had, there is a risk of sexual abuse of children via the internet.
According to police, 84 complaints of child sexual exploitation via the Internet and 76 complaints of child sexual abuse have been filed by April. More than one child can be involved in each case.
"The goal and essence of protecting our children is to implement sex education in schools immediately, which you understand is the best way to empower and protect them. "This education needs to be done much more purposefully so that children can understand what sexual abuse and exploitation are."
Asked about the role of parents, she said that it is not only the schools but also the parents themselves who need to discuss with the children and explain some things to them so that they can understand what exploitation and abuse are. "The main role is played by parents but also in cooperation with our teachers so that we can fight the sexual exploitation of children," he said.
The committee stated that a new meeting will be held again in June, since the Ministry of Education did not attend today. "And that is why we do not have a complete picture of sex education in schools in June. The meeting will be repeated to have a complete picture," he said.