- Cases of violence are increasing in Latin America and the Caribbean, 8 out of 10 girls and boys are victims of sexual violence.
- Colombia: Bogotá, Antioquia and Valle del Cauca are the departments with the highest number of girls, boys and adolescents who are victims of sexual violence.
- Domestic violence, poverty and overcrowding are factors that influence the increase in cases of sexual violence against girls and boys.
Given the increase in cases of sexual violence against girls, boys and adolescents, the Coalition Alianza por la Niñez Colombiana, in coordination with the initiative Weaving NetworksChildhood, Within the framework of the #NiñezPrimero strategy, it carried out the webinar: How do we stop the increase in the sexual abuse, sale and exploitation of children and youth during the pandemic?
In the session, the experts pointed out that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a significant increase in cases of sexual violence, human trafficking and child pornography in the region, mainly affecting girls and adolescent women.
In this regard, Juan Martín Pérez García Coordinator of the #TejiendoRedesInfancia initiative in Latin America and the Caribbean, pointed out that in the region 8 out of 10 sexual abuse occurs in the family environment, "We have a patriarchal macho culture that objectifies people into objects and this translates into acts of sexual abuse and exploitation against girls and boys."
Regarding the situation in Colombia, Mónica Bejarano from Asociación Creemos, indicated that 26,065 cases of sexual violence were reported in Colombia, of this number, 22,794 were girls, boys and adolescents. The departments with the highest number of cases are: Bogotá with 4,169, Antioquia 3,302, Valle del Cauca 2,268, Cundinamarca 1,658 and Santander 1,368. (2018)
Against this background, Gabriela Hermida, Childhood Specialist, explained that sexual abuse is also related to other crimes, such as commercial sexual exploitation, child pornography, trafficking for sexual purposes, abusive parenting patterns linked to cultural issues, easy access to materials with sexual content, among others. "Prevention must be differentiated, sexual abuse is not only when children are used for pornographic material (...) it is also when they are exposed to viewing pornography, it is as if they were face-to-face victims of abuse."
Likewise, Hermida added that around 300 million websites distribute pornographic material, 35% of downloads are pornography, 71% of minors hide information from their parents and more than 30% shared photos of sexual content at some point in time. throught social media.
Regarding this, Juana París, Te Protejo Program, Red PaPaz, added that during the confinement period there was an increase from 60% to 87% in the consumption of child pornographic material; For this reason, he suggested creating co-responsibility strategies with government entities, society organizations and international organizations.
Regarding internet access and its connection with cases of sexual abuse, the representative of the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Pili Ramírez, warned that girls and boys can be victims of sexual abuse through social networks; For this reason, he recommended that parents pay special attention when girls and boys are browsing the Internet or social networks.
Similarly, Gloria Carvalho, Executive Secretary of the Coalition Alianza por la Niñez Colombina, explained that the lack of regulations that regulate or punish crimes such as gruming, sexting, sextortion is also a factor that contributes to the increase in sexual violence in girls and boys. kids. "The complaint is a key element, not only to identify the aggressors, but also to identify the children who are victims of violence."
Regarding other factors, Nelson Rivera of the Renacer Foundation, underlined: "Confinement increases the levels of domestic violence and sexual violence against girls and boys, making them more prone to other types of violence such as commercial sexual exploitation."
Finally, Junior Jean Piero, an adolescent from Colombia, reflected on the need to carry out prevention campaigns aimed at girls, boys, adolescents and young people, to design educational plans with a human rights approach and training spaces for mothers and fathers.
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Press contact: Verónica Morales, Regional Communication Officer / [email protected]
About:
#NiñezPrimero is a strategy that provides guidance for the care of children and adolescents in emergency situations.
Weaving Childhood Nets, is a project co-financed by the European Union that seeks to contribute to the strengthening and consolidation of a platform for the defense of children and adolescents in 19 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of Children's Rights Mexico AC / #TejiendoRedesInfancia and in no case should it consider that it reflects the views of the European Union.