The Anti-Discrimination Centre Memorial Brussels has created a new series of video instructions for children – this time about the dangers of sexualized violence and objectification. Children can watch five episodes dedicated to the basic rights of the child to safety and protection, violation of physical and emotional boundaries and ways to protect these boundaries, online dangers and increased risks for children during the war, and forced migration of women and children.
The videos in Ukrainian, which are 2-3 minutes long, are intended for children ages 7 and up, and may also be of interest to younger children or older teenagers who have never been formally taught or have not discussed these topics with adults.
The relevance of covering the topics of sexualized violence and objectification for children cannot be underestimated. According to the Internet Watch Foundation, Ukraine is in the top 3 suppliers of child porn in the world. Children as young as 7 years old have been victims. According to the Council of Europe, every 5th child has experienced sexualized violence at least once in their life, mainly from people close to them, and in 30% of cases from relatives.
ADC Memorial Brussels has been working on the topic of protecting children’s rights for many years. A culture of prevention, preventive and educational actions both from civil society organizations and from schools, parents and authorities can help prevent violations of children’s rights, increase the level of safety in this area and create a comfortable environment for all children in Ukraine.
All episodes (in Ukrainian) will become available via the link “Серіал для дітей – Базові знання про сексуалізоване насилля”