Brazil invests $2 mi to fight violence against children online

Brazil’s Minister of Women, Family, and Human Rights Cristiane Britto said today (Jun 1) the government will invest $2 million to implement a countrywide framework to combat violence against children and adolescents online.

The resources will come as part of a partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The funds will be directed towards “six lines of immediate response to the growth of sexual crime against children and adolescents in online environments.”

The announcement was made during the Global Summit to Fight Violence against Children and Adolescents, in Brussels, Belgium. The event was organized by international alliance We Protect, which brings together 99 countries, 56 technology companies, 71 NGOs, and nine multilateral organizations.

“With the increasingly specialized activities in organized crime, joining forces on a global scale to put an end to the sexual abuse of children over the Internet is an urgent necessity,” the minister said.

“Children and adolescents don’t have unions, they don’t get together in associations, they don’t organize marches, and they often can’t even ask for help. Therefore, it is up to us—this great global army of protection—to act and guarantee their rights,” she added.

The UNDP, the ministry stated, will carry out a diagnosis on the entire justice system, the network of protection and support for victims, the areas of research and technology, as well as the policies and legislation linked to the issue. “The goal is to improve the initiatives to prevent and repress the sexual abuse and exploitation of children and adolescents already implemented in Brazil,” the ministry added in its statement.