The work of the Bulgarian Safer Internet Centre (SIC) will continue over the next 18 months thanks to funding from the European Union. The Centre will receive funding under the Digital Europe Programme of the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA), in connection with a submitted project “Digital Children“, in order to be able to support the work of the Hotline for illegal content and the 124 123 Child Online Safety Advisory Line, as well as the prevention and training activities of the Centre.
The National Centre also has a renewed consortium of organisations that will implement the activities of the Digital Children project. The Parents Association, which was one of the founders of the Centre in 2005, is the main coordinator, and the implementation of the Centre’s activities will be supported by the Bulgarian Family Planning and Sexual Health Association (BFPA) and the National Network for Children (NNC).
EU funding literally saves the work of the Centre. For years, ministries and institutions have been passing the buck without finding a lasting solution for its upkeep. To date, SIC’s activities are sustained by donations from donors and from the Bulgarian businesses.
Last year, Bulgarian SIC processed a record 46,000+ reports, 95% of which involved online sexual exploitation of children. Against the backdrop of these statistics, Bulgaria continues to be one of the few countries in the EU that does not provide national funding for the only structure of its kind for the protection and support of Bulgarian children online, despite the fact that in practice the Centre implements Bulgaria’s state policy and commitments under several EU Directives and Conventions.
The funding from the Digital Europe programme covers 50% of the required funding for all activities and the Centre will again be forced to rely on donations if the state does not co-find the EU provided additional funding for the online protection of the children.
The National Safer Internet Centre (www.safenet.bg) maintains a Hotline for reporting harmful content and online crimes against children. Alerts received from children and parents are processed and directed to the Cybercrime Directorate of the DG of Organised Crime, to which the Centre is a trusted partner, as well as to other EU Safer Internet Centres.
The SIC also operates the 124 123 Helpline for children and parents, as well as a chat room. Last year, 60% of the cases where parents sought help by phone were male (fathers). A quarter of the calls were related to prevention – parents asking how to protect their children and how to develop their digital skills. Other consultations are most often about reporting harmful content, online harassment, scams and threats, hacked and fake accounts and technical problems.
The National Centre also runs training activities for children, young people, parents and teachers across the country. The trainings are tailored to the age group of the students and cover topics such as online safety, how to recognise online bullying, what to do in case of abuse, what are the most risky situations and behaviours online, etc. The SIC website www.safenet.bg also has many resources for children and adults on digital-media literacy, safe online behaviour, awareness, responding to a problem and more.
With funding from the Digital Children project, SIC will not only continue the work of the National Hotline 124 123 and the Hotline, but will also strengthen its digital-media literacy training activities across the country. The Centre will conduct more trainings for parents and teachers. Child-focused educational initiatives will be delivered through trained youth, including from vulnerable groups. All activities will aim to reach a significant number of children in the country, especially those with limited access to education and information about the dangers of the digital space. Within the project, the SIC will train teachers, pedagogical counsellors, school psychologists, social workers, health mediators and pediatricians and other professionals working with children.
In the coming months, the organisations will also work on an analysis of the national legal framework and regulatory gaps that hinder the prevention, detection and punishment of online crimes against children. Recommendations for procedural and legal amendments will be drafted and the responsible institutions, including the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, the State Agency for Child Protection, etc. will be involved in the discussion. This part of the project activities will seek concrete actions of the state in prevention and adequate response to online crimes against children in the country.
