NAIROBI, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) — Kenya is making progress in enhancing child online safety amid the rapid proliferation of the internet, a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) official said Friday.
Eri Mathers Suzuki, chief of child protection at the UNICEF Kenya office, said the East African nation has established a multi-sectoral technical working group comprising UN agencies, government bodies and civil society to lead the fight against online exploitation and abuse of children.
“Kenya has also established the Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Protection Unit, which collaborates with international partners to prevent and respond to incidents of online child abuse,” Suzuki said during the youth engagement forum on online safety in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.
The event brought together more than 200 young people who were educated about online exploitation and abuse. Suzuki said Kenya has also enacted legislation and regulations to ensure that perpetrators of online crimes against children are held accountable for their actions.
Suzuki noted that UNICEF is supporting the implementation of a training program to enhance the capacity of Kenya’s justice agencies in investigating and prosecuting cases of online child abuse.
