total of 2,331 Senior High School (SHS) students in the Greater Accra Region (GAR) watched sexual content online, last year, a survey by the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) has revealed.
The study that interviewed 3,622 students in selected SHSs in the region, also found out that 866 students who experienced romance scam involving sex posted sexual contents online.
Additionally, 1,418 students experienced romance scam involving money; 769 encountered bullying on online while 2,025 students have physically met, persons they befriended online.
The Principal Manager, Child online Protection at CSA, Mrs Herrietta Asamoah, disclosed this at the maiden edition National Cybersecurity Challenge (NCC) held in Kumasi yesterday, said the survey was ongoing to understand children’s online experience to provide targeted interventions.
The challenge, which is part of the National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, aimed at promoting cyber safety and awareness among high school students in the country.
This would be done by providing them with hands-on experiences in identifying, preventing, and mitigating digital threats, especially online child sexual exploitation and abuse.
About 50 Senior High Schools were selected across the 16 regions to participate in the competitions with each school being represented by three contestants.
The participating schools were categorised into four zones namely, the Northern, Middle, Eastern and Southern zones, and winners from each group would compete against each other to qualify for the finals.
Mr Nelson Herald Darko, Senior Manager, Child Online Protection at the National Cyber Security Authority, under the Ministry of Communication, indicated that the NCC was a Government of Ghana initiative aimed at promoting cyber safety and awareness among high school students.
He said it wound provide them with hands-on experiences in identifying, preventing, and mitigating digital threats, especially online child sexual exploitation and abuse.
He said the NCC would be an annual rallying point for high school students across the country to compete in exciting exercises demonstrating their knowledge on how to stay safe online and avoid conflicting with the law.
Mr Darko reiterated that the objective and expected outcome of the challenge competition was to enhance awareness on cyber security best practices for students to address the growing concern of student’s online vulnerability.
“The competition is aimed at equipping students with the skills to interact with digital technology confidently, safely, and responsibly, to be peer advocates on safe online practices, direct students to cybersecurity career paths,” he indicated.
A representative of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Ms Joyce Odame, also advised the youth to take advantage of the internet space to improve on their social and educational life.
She reminded them of the need to be careful when clicking the internet.
“You should not be quick to arrange to meet a stranger you meet online, and must not accept all friends request online, because they may disguise themselves as good people, and for that matter, must check and be sure that the information about them is not fake,” she said.
Ms Odame disclosed that the survey was going on to understand children’s online experience to provide targeted interventions
FROM KINGSLEY E.HOPE, KUMASI
