This is according to a new global poll released by the United Nations\u2019 (UN) top official on ending violence against children. The findings, based on responses from more than 30 000 children across all regions, were presented to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
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UN Secretary\u2011General Spokesperson St\u00e9phane Dujarric said the report highlights \u201calarming trends\u201d and underscores \u201cthe urgent need for the entire online ecosystem to act faster and together to protect children\u201d. Representative on Violence against Children, said children are bearing the brunt of rising conflict, displacement, poverty and violence. \u201cWe meet today once again in a challenging world, where children are paying the highest price,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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The report warns that artificial intelligence (AI) is \u201cfundamentally transforming the threat landscape\u201d for children online. The rapid spread of generative AI is enabling faster, more targeted and harder\u2011to\u2011detect forms of online abuse. Deepfake photos and videos are increasingly being used to humiliate, threaten and exploit children. Manipulation through AI\u2011powered chatbots is also on the rise, with many children unable to distinguish between human and artificial interactions.<\/p>\n
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According to Dr Najat Maalla M\u2019jid\u2019s office, AI\u2011generated content is making cyberbullying easier to scale across multiple platforms, often with devastating speed. Children report that fear of stigma, shame and judgement from adults or peers prevents them from reporting online abuse. Failure to seek help can trigger immediate psychological distress and long\u2011term reputational harm. In the most tragic cases, cyberbullying has been linked to self\u2011harm and suicide.<\/p>\n
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M\u2019jid urged governments, technology companies, educators, parents and young people themselves to collaborate more closely on online protection. She said digital platforms must respond more rapidly to reports of harm and prioritise child\u2011centred safety measures.<\/p>\n
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One child consulted in the study insisted that solutions must be co\u2011designed with young people: \u201cDigital spaces must not become places where harm is reported but never resolved. Do not design the digital future for children. Design it with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
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–UN\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":28414,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[78,44,26],"class_list":["post-28413","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-featured","news-type-finance","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Nearly two\u2011thirds of children worldwide say cyberbullying has increased, while one in two do not know how to access support. ","published_date":"","news_description":"Nearly two\u2011thirds of children worldwide say cyberbullying has increased, while one in two do not know how to access support. ","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/28413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/28413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28415,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/28413\/revisions\/28415"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=28413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}