Tirana, 21 January 2024 – The Parliamentary Group “Friends of Children” of the Albanian Parliament and iSIGURT.al organized this morning a hearing session dedicated to the safety and protection of children and women in cyberspace. Main ministries and institutions responsible for cyber security, MPs and representatives of civil society organizations joined the session.
At the opening of the hearing, Mr. Altin Hazizaj, Director of CRCA /ECPAT Albania thanked the Parliament and in particular the Parliamentary Group “Friends of Children” for the spaces it has created for civil society to bring to the attention of the MPs important issues for the protection of children, but also girls and women.
The session then heard two reports prepared and presented by iSIGURT, the first on incidents reported by children and adolescents during 2023, while the second presented findings and recommendations regarding misogyny and hate speech against girls and women in Albania during the period 2018- 2023.
The session was organized in the framework of the International Day for Internet Safety (SID2024) and the advocacy campaign that CRCA/ECPAT Albania is implementing as part of the Monitoring Network against Gender Based Violence to raise awareness on the recommendations of the CEDAW and GREVIO Committees for Albania, supported by UN Women and SIDA Sweden.
The MP’s Xhixho, Xhupa, Tahiraj and Vasili, in their speech, emphasized the better commitment of public institutions to protect and inform children, women and girls from the risks they face online, while it has become necessary to adopt new laws and policies, especially the amendments proposed by CRCA /ECPAT Albania for the Criminal Code.
iSIGURT.al – Albania’s National Platform for Internet Safety has since 2005 led, in close cooperation with responsible institutions, civil society and the Internet and communication industry, the national campaign for better internet and protections for children and adolescents.
Following the session, all the present MPs signed the National Pact for the Protection of Children from Violence. The aim of the pact is to promote closer cooperation between institutions, civil society, and industry to enable a digital space where everyone is safe and protected.
For more information, contact:
iSIGURT.al
E-mail: isigurt@crca.al