Campaign launched for girl child online safety in Cambodia

We launched this campaign on 7th October in Phnom Penh with a debate in a school on the topic 'Does social media contribute to online exploitation?'. 8 girls from our project were divided into two teams and spoke for and against the motion to an audience of close to 400 children of 13-16-year-olds. Ministry officials, law enforcement agents and other CSOs also participated in the event. The event was also covered in the national press : Phnom Penh Post TVK News Cambodia

Here is what the girls spoke about: For the motion - 'Social media is a gateway to child exploitation as it is a forum for people to socialise. It is because of social media that the cases of online exploitation have increased as children spend so much time on all their platforms and begin to seek comfort in strangers.' Against the motion - 'Social media is just an extension of the internet. There was online exploitation even before social media. Social media has many uses in terms of awareness and information. It is the duty of the person using to be careful on online platforms and you cannot blame social media for online exploitation' The message of the debate was common - 'use social media carefully and know your rights online', which is what we wanted to instil in the school children, especially the girls.