Legislative framework
There are international, regional and national instruments aimed at combating ICT facilitated sexual abuse against children. International instruments recognize the rights of children and extend special protection to children. They require state parties to adopt measure to protect children from abuse and solicitation as well as provide cooperation in the investigations, prosecutions and [prevention of these crimes. Ratification and incorporation of these international instruments by state parties varies from one instrument to another and from one state to another.
According to Article 1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a child is any person who is under the age of eighteen unless applicable laws prescribe the attainment of age of majority at an earlier age. Abuse of children as defined by the World Health Organization is emotional, physical or sexual mistreatment of a child. Child sexual abuse is the engagement of a child in sexual activity that the child does not fully comprehend or is unable or lacks the capacity to give informed consent. The UNHCR defines child exploitation as the use of the child to benefit of others at the detriment of the child’s mental, physical or developmental wellbeing. The UNICEF states that sexual abuse of a child becomes …show more content…
As the nature and the prevalence of child solicitation becomes clearer, it is necessary to enact specific laws against the issue. Although there are laws that govern child solicitation, there is the need to ensure that these laws keep in pace with technological innovations. Because information technology is constantly changing, revision to existing laws and the enactment of new laws becomes necessary. In addition, legislators must possess the necessary training in order to formulate effective laws to combat child solicitation (Ybarra & Mitchell
There are international, regional and national instruments aimed at combating ICT facilitated sexual abuse against children. International instruments recognize the rights of children and extend special protection to children. They require state parties to adopt measure to protect children from abuse and solicitation as well as provide cooperation in the investigations, prosecutions and [prevention of these crimes. Ratification and incorporation of these international instruments by state parties varies from one instrument to another and from one state to another.
According to Article 1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a child is any person who is under the age of eighteen unless applicable laws prescribe the attainment of age of majority at an earlier age. Abuse of children as defined by the World Health Organization is emotional, physical or sexual mistreatment of a child. Child sexual abuse is the engagement of a child in sexual activity that the child does not fully comprehend or is unable or lacks the capacity to give informed consent. The UNHCR defines child exploitation as the use of the child to benefit of others at the detriment of the child’s mental, physical or developmental wellbeing. The UNICEF states that sexual abuse of a child becomes …show more content…
As the nature and the prevalence of child solicitation becomes clearer, it is necessary to enact specific laws against the issue. Although there are laws that govern child solicitation, there is the need to ensure that these laws keep in pace with technological innovations. Because information technology is constantly changing, revision to existing laws and the enactment of new laws becomes necessary. In addition, legislators must possess the necessary training in order to formulate effective laws to combat child solicitation (Ybarra & Mitchell