Online Reporter
Remember Deketeke
Herald Correspondent
ZIMBABWE’S first-ever National Child Online Protection Policy will ensure children are shielded from harmful digital content and online predators, a senior Government official has said.
Speaking at the COP Policy Validation Workshop at the University of Zimbabwe yesterday, ICT, Postal and Courier Services Permanent Secretary Dr Beulla Chirume said the policy came at a critical moment when technology was advancing faster than protective safeguards.
“Today, we meet to validate a national Child Online Protection (COP) Policy at a moment when the digital world is expanding faster than our safeguards,” she said.
“The internet is an extraordinary enabler of learning, creativity, entrepreneurship and civic engagement. But without deliberate protection measures, it can also expose children to harm at a scale and speed we have never anticipated.”
Citing international statistics, Dr Chirume said the United States National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children’s Cyber Tipline had received 20,5 million reports in 2024, with nearly 63 million files linked to child sexual exploitation.
“The nature of the threat is also evolving,” she added.
“Reports that involved generative AI surged by 1 325 percent in 2024, showing how new tools can be misused to create or manipulate child sexual abuse material. Reports of online enticement, including grooming and sextortion, hit over 546 000 in 2024, a 192 percent jump from 2023.”
Dr Chirume added Zimbabwean children were equally vulnerable.
“A recent national survey reported by The Herald found that about 44-47 percent of children have seen sexual content online at least once, and around 13 percent have experienced cyberbullying,” she said.
“These are our children, in our communities, on devices in our homes and schools.”
Dr Chirume also linked the current drug abuse menace to unprotected digital exposure.
“The current drug menace that we are witnessing in our country has also been exacerbated by the online experiences that our children are exposed to. Our solutions must bridge access and safety together,” she said.
She said the new policy was a product of wide consultations with Government ministries, child welfare organisations, industry stakeholders and children themselves.
