‘Children are vulnerable to abuse every time they use the internet,’ says social psychologist
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania
Thousands of Tanzanian children are believed to have been victims of online sexual abuse during the coronavirus lockdowns when schools were closed, according to children’s rights campaigners.
“This is a serious problem. Many children suffered, technology has brought misery into their lives and parents could do little to help,” said Debora Kalinga, a teacher at Makumbusho Primary School in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s largest commercial city.
She said children have been abused by the people they know, often peers or members of their own families.
“The source of this problem is moral decay. criminals are taking advantage of a lack of parental love and affection to harm children,” she told Anadolu Agency.
She said the problem is compounded by the culture of silence. “Many victims of abuse don’t speak up, they would rather remain silent to avoid shame,” she said.
Sex predators
As COVID-19 tightened its grip on lives, students in many of Tanzania’s elite schools became reliant on the internet for school, social connection and recreation. Consequently, they were exposed to online sex predators who have lured, coerced and blackmailed students to engage in sexual activity with the promise of money or gifts, said activists.
Although digital technologies are hailed for connecting people, activists say they have also brought misery to families.
“Children are vulnerable to abuse every time they use the internet,” said social psychologist Lydia Magayane.
A study by UNICEF and Interpol published earlier this month revealed that 200,000 internet-using children between the ages of 12 and 17 in Tanzania had been sexually abused online.
The study, “Disrupting harm in Tanzania,” said victims were blackmailed and coerced to post nude images or videos online.
“This shows a serious lack of awareness and education which could lead to greater harm,” it said.
For 17-year-old Martina, not her real name to avoid a social reaction, it all started in March 2020 when her mother bought a new smartphone to help her attend classroom online during a long school holiday.
“I felt lonely at times and wanted to make new friends online,” she told Anadolu Agency. And many of them were much older than she was.
She created a new Facebook account and received a friend request from a young man who complimented her and listened to her.
“I felt special and believed he really cared about me,” she said.
The stranger groomed her and twisted the conversation to be more romantic.
She started receiving sexually explicit messages and the stranger became jealously of her.
“He asked me to send nude pictures of myself in front of the camera and I was inclined to do so because I wanted to make him happy,” she said.
Little did she know she was exposing herself to a sex predator.
“I was so naïve, believing that I was doing the right thing. I was wrong,” she told Anadolu Agency.
The online encounter abruptly ended when the anonymous friend started to blackmail her.
Her story highlights the vulnerability of many children online.
Harmful digital tools
As the use of digital technologies grows, children’s rights activists warned that children would be prone to online sexual abuse.
Globally, the rising use of technology has created shifts in notions of privacy and sexuality among children. While chatting and video streaming are largely harmless, analysts said sharing self-generated sexual content using digital tools is very harmful.
Although online child sexual abuse is illegal in Tanzania, observers said it is going on unabated.
However, the government, on the other hand, is taking measures to curb cybercrime.
Jabiri Bakari, the head of Tanzania’s communications watchdog, said the government has established permanent committees to address cyberbullying, theft and abuse.
“We have also enacted tougher laws to specifically protect children from online abuse and criminals are severely penalized,” he told Anadolu Agency.
Bakari said the government has also established a cybercrime unit under the police force to deter any form of online theft, or abuse and to prepare criminal charges in collaboration with relevant authorities.
Meanwhile, teachers in Dar es Salaam have warned about the rising wave of children being groomed by sex predators through webcams and live streaming and how it has led to the rising number of abusive images circulating online.
“These sexual abuses happen on social media where often parents have no control even when their own children are being coerced into sexual activity,” said Daudi Kingai, a teacher at Kijitonyama Primary School.
Although some children in Tanzania are adept at identifying online risks, experts say their digital safety skills appear inadequate since they rarely have access to information about how to stay safe online.
Jacky, not her real name, said she used to exchange nude photos with her girlfriends on Facebook messenger for fun.
But when she received a message from a stranger pretending to know her and threatening to post her nude photos online unless the pair had sex, she became very worried.
“He threatened me, saying ‘if you not going to, I will post those nude photos you sent to your friend on Instagram and on Facebook and I will share them on WhatsApp,’” she said.
Although Jacky suffered emotional distress, she pleaded with the stranger not to publish her pictures.
If he had them, it turned out to be a prank.
“I learnt a bitter lesson, never again to share my photos with strangers,” she said.
