Tirana, 08 May 2018 – The Children’s Human Rights Center of Albania (CRCA) and the Albanian National Child Helpline (ALO 116) through this public statement call on the Albanian Parliament and lawmakers to adoption urgently the amendments to the Albanian Criminal Code to protect children from the sexual predators on the Internet!
A few days ago, one of the major national TV programs, broadcasted communication with sexual and pornographic content among adult persons and virtual under age children. The adults that were all male are using social networks to chat and communicate with children, asking them to engage in sexual activity on and off line. All this happens because the Albanian Criminal Code does not protect children in their virtual communication from sexual predators.
For us this is unacceptable!
In 2016 and again in 2017, CRCA Albania officially proposed and asked the Albanian Parliament and the Law Commission to approve new ammendaments to the Criminal Code in order to protect children from violence and exploitation on the Internet! The Parliament for reasons not yet known did not take into account this request!
While CRCA has denounced the grave danger of this situation for years, the footage shown by the well-known investigative TV programme “Fiks Fare”, confirmed the urgent need for these changes to the Criminal Code. This reality forces us today to issue this public statement to demand the urgent adoption of the ammendaments to the Criminal Code proposed by our organizations.
During the last two years, ALO 116 Albania has dealt with more than 886 phone calls from children and adolescents who have reported online security issues, identity theft, abuse, bullying and violence.
Meanwhile the National Platform www.iSigurt.alduring 2016-2018 registered 146 cases of children and young people, exposed to inappropriate or illegal online images, sexual harassment, bullying or pornography.