NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 1- Concerns have increased over the safety of children in the country and more so those who are tech-savvy.
The fact that recruitments of children can be done through social media platforms for them to participate in lecherous activities in the guise of home parties is a call for action.
But cyber safety pundits say safety measures can only be initiated at the family level as authorities tackle the sophisticated areas.
In the past a few weeks, detectives drawn from the Child Protection Unit have arrested hundreds of teenagers during ‘home parties’ where drugs and alcoholic drinks were recovered.
In some areas, the teenagers were suspected to have engaged in sex orgies.
How do online predators befriend children through online platforms?
It starts through what is defined as online grooming, according to the Communication Authority of Kenya.
What is online grooming?
It is the befriending of children and vulnerable people online for purposes of gaining their trust with the intention of exploiting them and causing them harm.
Online grooming, CAK says, may be for purposes such as child sexual exploitation both online and offline, as well as obtaining sexually explicit images and videos from victims.
-Signs of Online Grooming-
Teenagers will develop tendencies of communicating secretly since online predators seek to isolate them.
This results in children being secretive “about how they are spending their time when online, and who their friends are.”
The other sign includes random gifts; online predators seek to form relationships with children by giving them attention and gifts as a way of forming a bond between them.
Thirdly, online predators result in online intimidation; perpetrators use fear or embarrassment to keep children from pushing back or reporting instances of abuse to an adult.
“This may include threats of sharing the explicit videos and images,” CKA pointed out in their weekly Cybersecurity guide.
-Security Measures Against Online Grooming-
The security tips include monitoring your children’s online activities so that you can guide them in using the internet responsibly and “to weed out abnormal activities.”
Parents are also advised to nurture their children to speak up about their online activities, use of parental controls to monitor their activities online and use of Virtual Private Network (VPN) to encrypt their internet activities.
“We should also teach our children how to navigate the internet safely and have a sense of boundaries when it comes sharing information online,” advised the CAK.
“Ensure your children know that they should never meet up with strangers they meet online. Be mindful of abnormal behaviour or changes in your children’s behaviour when they spend time online.”
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