Parents and teachers should seek to prepare children for a world in which digital crimes, including sexual exploitation and violence, abound, the Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation said on Friday.
The number of cases of crimes against children, such as child pornography and online bullying, is increasing, the foundation said.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare registered 896 such crimes from January to June last year, the highest number for that period in the past few years for such cases, it said.
Photo: Wu Po-hsuan, Taipei Times
Foundation chairwoman Yeh Der-lan (葉德蘭) said that UN agencies are increasingly putting their focus on the right to bodily autonomy, including online.
Foundation director Tu Ying-chiu (杜瑛秋) said that a survey conducted by the foundation showed that 60 percent of parents fear that their children could become victims of crimes involving adults deceiving them on social media, including sending them pornographic material or asking them to take pornographic photographs of themselves.
Virtually all respondents said it is important that minors know that the rights to bodily autonomy and privacy also extend to the digital realm, Tu said.
The survey showed that 87.1 percent of parents had told their children that it is not OK if anyone takes nude photographs of them, while 38.2 percent said they had begun talking to them about digital rights and bodily autonomy since they were kindergarten age, Tu said.
Thirty percent said they started using digital devices to communicate with their children before they turned six, while 11.8 percent said they used such devices as “digital pacifiers” to keep their children occupied, Tu said.
Thirty-seven percent said using digital devices had led to family relations becoming more distant, Tu said.
The top three negative effects related to digital device usage respondents worried about were effects on children’s eyesight, online addiction and exposure to sexual or violent content, Tu said, adding that the survey collected 372 valid questionnaires.
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
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