Held on the theme, ‘Empow­ering Minds, Protecting Rights: Creating a Safer Digi­tal Africa,’ the annual event held on Febru­ary 6 was dedicated to advancing online safety initiatives and best practices by raising awareness on Child Online Safety in Africa.

Dr Albert Antwi-Boasiako ,CSA Boss

According to the press statement issued by the Public Relations Unit of the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) in Accra yesterday, the celebration further seeks to reflect the continent’s un­wavering commitment to ensuring a secure digital future by empow­ering young people, especially children and positioning them for a safer digital Africa.

A 2022 report from UNICEF Ghana indicated that more than 13,000 images and videos of child sexual abuse were report­edly accessed or uploaded from Ghana in 2020. According to Interpol’s Global Crime Trends Report 2022, Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (OCSEA) was ranked among the top 10 crime trends perceived by mem­ber countries to pose high or very high threats.

“Sixty two per cent of member countries strongly expected this crime to increase significantly in the future. Ghana is thus in grave danger of losing her future generation to the predatory and hidden evils of the online world,” the statement added.

The celebration in Ghana is thus expected to create awareness of child online provisions in the Cybersecurity Act 2020, (Act 1038), raise awareness of current cybersecurity trends which affect children, share safety tips and acceptable online behaviours for children and young persons as well as discuss channels for seek­ing redress.

It said that the government through the CSA has put in place measures to demonstrate its commitment towards a safer internet for all users, especially children, some of which include the passage of the Cybersecurity Act 2020, (Act 1038), which has provisions that criminalise child online abuses, the National Child Online Protection Framework which is aimed at tackling the incidents of Child Online Sexual Exploitation and Abuse including child sexual abuse materials, on­line harassment and cyberbullying against children, and the Cyber­security/ Cybercrime Incidents Reporting Points of Contacts that allow for the coalition of reports and is a platform for enquiries.

The CSA, it explained, was committed to organising regular sensitisation programmes across the country to educate children and parents on how to ensure safety online.

Adding, in 2022, the Authority further launched the National Cy­bersecurity Challenge for Senior High Schools across the country to educate the students on the subject and to further conscientise them on cyber hygiene practices, and also prepare them to become cybersecurity professionals.

Despite the efforts of the gov­ernment to completely make the internet a safe place for children, some gaps need to be filled by the private sector; technology compa­nies, Civil Society Organisations, parents, teachers, the media, among others, in order to improve awareness on child online safety issues across the country.