Online Risk and Harm for Children in Eastern and Southern Africa
Disrupting Harm report
Highlights
Despite gaps in some parts of the continent, the number of young people across Africa who use the internet increases every year. This increase in internet availability is already having some positive impacts in terms of creating jobs and reducing poverty, which is necessary to meet the needs of a fast-growing population. At the same time, countries need to proactively mitigate the potential increase in exposure to online risk and harm that can result when countries transition from low to high connectivity.
The purpose of this report is to draw on the voices and experiences of children to provide a regional snapshot of the online harm landscape as a baseline, and urge regional and national bodies to continue mobilizing to address these harms in light of Africa’s digital transformation.
The intent is not to compare countries in terms of who is doing better or worse, but to look for similarities and differences that can help us understand more about the causes and solutions for these issues and find opportunities for regional learning.
