Online safety and the prevention of digital violence are becoming high-priority topics on the agendas of students in several schools across the country, as part of the #Bodyright movement launched by UNFPA and its partners. Starting in February, UNFPA has organized several outreach events in across the country with the participation of volunteers and students from high schools, colleges, and youth centers.
In March, hundreds of young men and women studying at high schools in Lozova, Străseni, Hîncești, Nisporeni, and Volovița in Soroca district participated in the #ClickFărăViolence events, carried out within the #Bodyright campaign. Students participated in an intellectual game specifically designed to identify forms of violence, as well as solutions to challenges that may arise in the digital space.
The students had the opportunity to interact with the performer Dara, the Ambassador of the campaign in the Republic of Moldova, and the actor Cătălin Lungu, discussing the risks of digital violence in the virtual environment and the safety measures one can take to mitigate these dangers.
"I've experienced online abuse firsthand, and today I wanted to share this experience with young people. Together, we sang 'Virtual Lovelessness' and made a commitment to surf the Internet safely," said Dara.
"I learned about an increasingly widespread and dangerous phenomenon of digital violence through a game. Some answers to questions amazed us, for example, it only takes 18 minutes to convince a child to send sexual images to a stranger," said Alina, a 10th-grade student at Liceul Teoretic "Metropolitan Nestor Vornicescu" in Lozova, Străseni.
"During the game, one of the colleagues at our table shared an experience of online abuse, which made us understand that online harassment is a phenomenon very close to us," shared Alexandru, a 10th-grade student from "Mihail Sadoveanu" high school in Hâncești.
Over the past two months, campaign partners including Orange company and volunteers from the internal Ne Pasă program, alongside specialists from the International Center "La Strada," have conducted numerous training sessions during the informative sessions of #Bodyright. The company's volunteers provided instruction to students in digital technologies, educating them about various forms of digital violence, protective measures, and responsible online behavior.
The #Bodyright campaign is a global movement against digital violence, aiming to raise awareness of online violence forms and mobilize actions and solutions to combat this phenomenon.
Globally, eight out of ten women have been directly or indirectly affected by digital violence. Among the most common forms are cyberbullying, cyberflashing (sending obscene images by strangers), doxxing (collecting data about a person and using it against them), hate speech, and the use of fake images and videos (deepfakes).
Be part of the actions to prevent online violence. Learn more about the Bodyright campaign here: https://moldova.unfpa.org/ro/bodyright
