A/HRC/28/55 high risks of exposure to harmful material and cyberbullying.20 A considerable proportion of the victims of online sexual abuse are children under the age of 12. 67. Gender differences also influence how children use ICTs and perceive and respond to online risks. In Europe, boys appear more bothered by online violence than girls, while girls are more concerned with contact-related risks.21 Teenage girls are slightly more likely to receive nasty or hurtful messages online than teenage boys. 68. There are also indications that boys enjoy more and better quality access to the Internet than girls.22 That pattern is likely to exist in other regions, especially in contexts where girls may experience discrimination in society. At the same time, ICTs may also provide important tools for those girls to obtain information, participate in social and cultural life, and overcome isolation in their communities.23 Vulnerability 69. The Internet has the potential to compound and magnify existing vulnerabilities of children at risk, and to add to the challenges they face in the offline world. For marginalized children, including those experiencing social exclusion, those out of school, with disabilities, belonging to minorities or affected by migration, who may have no access to the Internet at home or in school, who may lack guidance and advice from caregivers and who explore the cyberspace on their own, the opportunity to become an empowered digital citizen is seriously limited. Those children will be less likely to enjoy the benefits offered by the online environment or to receive information regarding online safety than their peers, and more likely to face bullying, harassment or exploitation online. 70. Social isolation affects the nature of a child’s online behaviour and the amount of their online activity, as well as their propensity to seek help when problems arise.24 The likelihood of reporting concerns to the authorities is lower when young people lack confidence in the police, or where police officers are perceived to lack the knowledge and skills necessary to act in a child-sensitive manner and to effectively address crimes associated with new technologies. 71. Yet ICTs and the Internet have enormous potential to overcome many of the challenges vulnerable children face in the offline world, especially through social networks which offer valuable means to reduce the social isolation and discrimination they may encounter. Geographical considerations 72. While the Internet helps to overcome spatial barriers, geography influences the experience of children online. The number of Internet users globally has reached 3 billion, but 90 per cent of the 4 billion people not yet using the Internet live in the developing world. As a result of that digital divide, the opportunity for children to become empowered digital citizens is conditioned by their place of residence, and higher prices for Internet access in less developed areas only exacerbate the divide. 20 21 22 23 24 12 See E/CN.15/2014/7, para. 40. Livingstone, In their own words, p. 1. Monica Barbovschi and Michael Dreier, “Vulnerable groups of children”, in Innovative approaches for investigating how children understand risk in new media: Dealing with methodological and ethical challenges, Monica Barbovschi, Leila Green and Sofie Vandoninck, eds. (London, LSE: EU Kids Online, 2013), p. 60. “Releasing children’s potential and minimizing risks”, p. 38. See E/CN.15/2014/7, para. 40.