Adopted Action Plan for Protection of Children and Prevention of Violence against Children through ICTs in B-H

The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the Action Plan for Protection of Children and Prevention of Violence against Children through Information and Communication Technologies in Bosnia and Herzegovina 2014-2015, prepared by the Ministry of Security in cooperation with Save the Children, Criminal Policy Research Centre, Kronauer Consulting and representatives of other B-H institutions.

This Action Plan represents the final activity of the project „Comprehensive response to abuse and exploitation of children through ICTs“, implemented and funded by Save the Children in B-H and  throughout the region since 2008, with co-funding from the OAK Foundation.

The Action Plan focuses on improving the system of protection of children from abuse and exploitation. It includes more than 40 activities that relevant authorities in B-H will implement by the end to 2015 in order to ensure efficient mechanisms of protection of children against exploitation for pornography and against other forms of sexual exploitation and abuse through information and communication technologies.

The Plan defines adoption of changes and amendments and harmonisation of the relevant bylaws, as well as strengthening of institutional capacities and cooperation with international institutions in this area.

In the process of development of the Plan, comprehensive consultations were made with primary and high school children with the aim to examine children habits and experiences in internet use and get their observations about the best ways to protect children on internet. This was the first time that the children were included in the development of a national strategic document that addresses children, even though the UN Convention on the rights of the child stresses the importance of the component of child participation in all areas that affect children.

“Adults frequently forget that children are important stakeholders, able to provide us with information that no expert can – what they think of a problem, how does it make them feel, what they think is the appropriate response. Their feedback is priceless and listening to them often reveals issues we did not even think about in the first place,” explains Aida Bekic, Child Protection Program manager in Save the Children.

Children that participated in consultations, students of primary and high schools, were pleasantly surprised with the possibility to actively participate in focus groups, where they had a chance to express their opinions and share experiences, instead of only hearing a lecture. “At first, the questions sounded outdated, like something we already know and what is part of our everyday lives, but now I see there is a lot more to learn for us. I am glad that we exchanged experiences, it was nice and educational,” said one of the participants after the focus group was held. 

The Action Plan for Protection of Children and Prevention of Violence against Children through Information and Communication Technologies in Bosnia and Herzegovina 2014-2015 is created in line with the Strategy for combatting trafficking in human beings in Bosnia Herzegovina (2013-2015), adopted by the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina in March last year, as stated by the Information Department of the Council of Ministers.