A/HRC/52/61 ways in which the uses of digital technologies may facilitate or impede the investigation and prosecution of crimes against children and take all available preventive, enforcement and remedial measures, including in cooperation with international partners. They should provide specialized training for law enforcement officials, prosecutors and judges on violations of children’s rights linked specifically to the digital environment, including through international cooperation. 82. Furthermore, it is essential that children and their caregivers have effective access to child-friendly complaint mechanisms regarding online violence, through both national human rights institutions and other national authorities, including those institutions or authorities that are responsible for health and safety, data protection and consumer rights, education and advertising and marketing. Businesses should also have accessible and childfriendly complaints processes.47 E. Children as part of the solution 83. Policymakers at all levels must empower children, listen to them and respect their views. The digital world has opened the door to far greater involvement by children in every aspect of the fight against online violence. Children themselves report that the digital environment is central to their lives and has given them crucial opportunities for their voices to be heard in matters that affect them. 84. Children must first and foremost be empowered with the knowledge and skills needed to keep themselves safe online. The WHO review of what works to prevent online violence against children found strong evidence that prevention education for children can work and identified key components of an effective approach. 48 The review noted that prevention programmes should address all forms of online violence against children in an integrated way, both across types of violence and alongside its offline forms. However, it must be emphasized that while empowering and educating children and caregivers are important, this must not result in a shifting of the burden for keeping children safe onto their own shoulders. 85. Children are also increasingly taking action to connect with and support each other through the digital environment. As outlined in the digital participation map of the Office of the Special Representative, children and young people are creating content and using digital platforms to raise awareness on violence prevention, gender-based violence, peer violence, sustainable development, climate change, mental health and misinformation, among many other topics. They are also conducting digital literacy and capacity-building campaigns, including with children in vulnerable situations and those who are harder to reach. This underscores the importance of providing safe and empowering spaces and opportunities for children to continue acting as agents of positive change. 86. Children and young people are increasingly turning to the online world when they are at risk of experiencing violence, including through accessing helplines, hotlines, counselling services and violence reporting systems. In February 2022, the Office of the Special Representative and ITU launched Protection through Online Participation (POP), an intersectoral and collaborative initiative which aims towards achieving a better understanding of how children and young people use digital platforms to be safer.49 Through an online survey, Protection through Online Participation has started to map protection services that support children and youth through online means, having received close to 4,000 examples from 118 countries. Initial results reveal, for example, collaborative approaches taken by Governments, United Nations entities and health services in running online protection support systems. These services provide information on issues related to children and women, enable the reporting of violence, harm or exploitation and provide counselling or advice. The mapping also highlights that children and young people are, together with health and social workers, among those providing support. The main issues addressed include physical 47 48 49 GE.22-29128 Ibid. See, for example, the role of the Online Safety Commission of Fiji, established in the Online Safety Act 2018. World Health Organization, What Works to Prevent Online Violence against Children? Further information on the initiative and the list of partners is available from https://violenceagainstchildren.un.org/content/pop. 17