CPP facilitates Inter-governmental Discussion on addressing ICT Enabled Child Sexual Exploitation in Brazil

CNJ discusses partnerships against sexual exploitation of children and adolescents

Auxiliary Judges of the National Council of Justice (CNJ), Reinaldo Cintra and Daniel Issler, participated in Tuesday’s Brazil – Canada Meeting: Strategies to Combat Sexual Violence Against Children and Adolescents facilitated by Information Technology and Communication Technologies (ICTs).

The event was sponsored by Child Protection Partnership (CPP) - a Canadian entity that aims to reduce child sexual exploitation through the Internet.

Reinaldo Cintra attended the opening ceremony in Brasilia. The magistrate noted the difficulty that the Government currently faces to follow the technological advances and to combat crime committed on the Internet, especially those perpetrated against children and adolescents.

He said it was necessary to create conditions so that the state can more effectively combat the misuse of technology.

Cintra also highlighted the importance of the Judicial Branch not only discussing this subject, but being a main partner in the fight against child sexual abuse.

According to him, the fight against Internet abuse, for example, involves a series of organizations, including the police, prosecutors and Justice - the latter relevant to determine the actual breach of confidentiality or even the withdrawal of inappropriate sites from the air.

"The National Council of Justice is a partner in the fight for the protection of children and adolescents," said the assistant judge.

In addition to the CNJ, attending the meeting were representatives of the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), Ministry of Science and Technology (MCT), the Parliamentary Rights of the Child and Adolescent, the Human Rights Secretariat of the Presidency (SDH), Federal Police (PF) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Canadian authorities.

Vera Soares, representative of the MCT, highlighted the complexity involved in the fight against sexual exploitation enabled by technology. “But we must collaborate. We have a lot to learn from this issue," Soares said. The representative of MJ, Paulo de Tarso Teixeira, in turn, said that the eradication of sexual abuse of children and adolescents is a priority of the current government.

The CPP's director and deputy director of the International Institute for Human Rights and Development of Children and Adolescents, Suzanne Williams, said that with the advancement of technology, we have created a new public space, which should be kept safe, especially for children and adolescents.

"This is the real focus of the CPP partnerships," she said, stressing the importance of Brazil's involvement in this work. She said the country is ahead in the fight against sexual abuse of children and young people and, therefore, can lead the movement in this direction in Latin America.

The goal of the CPP, by promoting the meeting of Canadian and Brazilian authorities, is to unite the two countries to combat sexual violence against children and adolescents facilitated by the use of technologies such as computers and mobile phones.

The intention is to share experiences, strengthen partnerships and cooperation on strategies and techniques to help countries protect children and adolescents from risks such as sexual exploitation online.
 

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