Phnom Penh: The Royal Government, along with international NGOs and Unicef, has launched an action plan to prevent the online sexual exploitation of children in the kingdom. The plan was unveiled at a virtual event on Wednesday morning. Minister of the Interior, Mr. Sar Kheng, says online sexual exploitation of minors has become an emerging challenge during the pandemic. He’s now calling on relevant authorities and civil society to cooperate in preventing it.

The international NGO, Terre des Hommes Netherlands, has reported that online child protection in Cambodia is a major challenge. It’s Country Representative Ms. Zoe de Melo says that many Cambodian children under the age of 13 are using social media more than ever before. “Since the first covid outbreak, one year and a half ago now. The time spend online by Cambodian children has increased even more. Online and distant learning has been a great alternative for some children to continue their education in very difficult times. But the evidence shows that most of the children remain largely unsupervised by their caregivers or by another adults who have little awareness of the risks of being active online.”

The Action Plan to Prevent and Respond to Online Child Sexual Exploitation 2021-2025 contains the basic rights of children and strategic goals to protect them online. Unicef Cambodia Deputy Representative, Mr. Jalaa Abdelwahab, says that school closures due to the pandemic have increased the access children have to the internet, often without proper supervision. He says this increases the risks of child sexual exploitation in the forms of pictures and videos.

Interior Minister Mr. Sar Kheng has called for more awareness for parents and guardians about the dangers children are exposed to online. He has also urged the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications to strictly regulate Internet service providers and develop child protection policies responsive to image content and pornographic material. Mr. Kheng has also encouraged the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation to continue promoting social services, especially counselling, to vulnerable children about online crimes.