Portal for reporting images and videos of sexual abuse of girls, boys and adolescents is launched

The Ministry of the Presidency (Minpre), the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), Plan International, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have launched a portal for reporting images and videos of sexual abuse of girls, children, and adolescents in the Dominican Republic. The portal is hosted on the website of the Attorney General’s Office and the National Cybersecurity Center, associated with the Internet Watch Foundation and Interpol. The development of this web page has been a priority for all organizations involved after a survey carried out by UNICEF in 2020, which highlighted that 56% of girls and boys in the Dominican Republic do not feel fully secure in the digital environment. According to a study by UNICEF, less than half of the girls, boys, and adolescents (43%) feel confident in how to react to an online attack or negative episode. Online downloads of sexual abuse content have multiplied in recent years.

Iván Féliz Vargas, speaking on behalf of the Attorney General of the Republic, Miriam Germán Brito, announced the launch of the online child sexual abuse content reporting portal. He described this launch as a historic day in the fight against online child sexual abuse in the Dominican Republic. The portal is an important step in addressing the risks associated with online exposure to inappropriate content, harassment, and sexual exploitation. Féliz urged everyone to use this portal and work together to protect children and adolescents from online dangers. The use of technologies and internet access represents significant risks for children and adolescents. Sexual predators use the anonymity provided by the Internet to approach children and young people, posing as people or trusted friends. It is our responsibility as adults, parents, educators, and community leaders to ensure that our children and young people are safe, monitor online content, educate them about potential dangers, and provide them with the resources they need to report suspicious or inappropriate situations.

The launch of the portal fulfills an important goal of the 2030 Digital Agenda, concerning the creation of a hotline for the protection of children and adolescents against online child abuse content. All reports of suspected images of sexual abuse of minors will be reviewed by The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), an organization that seeks to minimize the availability of sexual abuse content online, specifically images and videos of child sexual abuse hosted anywhere in the world, with which the PGR has signed an agreement.