A/HRC/28/55
Investigations are further complicated by the international dimension of much cybercrime,
which calls for cooperation among national law enforcement authorities.
116. Child victims are particularly vulnerable and require appropriate support to avoid the
risk of re-victimization and to benefit from effective rehabilitation. That calls for
coordination among different sectors, including police, justice, child welfare services,
education and other relevant authorities. In order to improve implementation of the law,
professionals working with and for children, including teachers and law enforcement
officials, should benefit from capacity-building initiatives to gain skills and expertise to
promote children’s digital literacy, alert children to online risks they may face, and identify
early signals of abuse and required steps to address them in an ethical and child-sensitive
manner.
(ii)
Data and research
117. In such a fast-changing area, data and research are crucially needed to inform law,
policy and action and to provide deeper understanding of children’s evolving skills,
practices and concerns. That includes involving children in the assessment of the relevance
of existing measures and awareness-raising materials.
118. Knowledge gaps also need to be addressed. So far, studies have focused more on
problems and concerns, and less on online opportunities and the long-term consequences of
risks. Few studies have been conducted in countries in middle- and low-income countries
and less is known about how very young children engage with ICTs. Given that it is in
those areas that change has been fastest and the need to minimize risks is particularly felt, it
is there that research should be promoted further.
V.
Consolidating knowledge on emerging concerns: preventing
violence and deprivation of liberty of girls involved with the
criminal justice system
119. Over the past years, the boundaries between criminal and intimate violence have
become increasingly blurred, provoking fear, insecurity and harm in families and in society
at large.
120. Children are particularly vulnerable to those intertwined forms of violence, both as
victims and witnesses. While adolescent boys may be at risk of physical aggression and
homicide owing to their participation in street fighting, gang membership, possession of
arms and manipulation by organized crime networks, girls are more likely to endure
violence in the private sphere, in particular sexual violence, which is often associated with
shame, fear and distrust.35
121. According to UNICEF, one in three adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 worldwide have
been the victims of emotional, physical or sexual violence committed by their husbands or
partners at some point in their lives.36 Taking place behind closed doors, incidents of
violence are often associated with a culture of silence that inhibits girls from speaking out,
from seeking help, accessing justice and bringing perpetrators to justice.
122. As the international community reviews progress in the implementation over the
past twenty years of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, including the
protection of girls from discrimination and violence, it is crucial to prevent and address the
35
36
20
See A/HRC/25/35, para. 17.
UNICEF, “Hidden in Plain Sight”, p. 206.