Sexual abuse of children involves activities in which the perpetrator makes physical contact with the child by touching the child's intimate body parts regardless of whether the child is clothed or not, sexual contacts without consent or with a child under 15 years of age, rape, coercion or inducement of a child to participate in sexual activities on their own body or on the body of another person, unwanted sexual behaviors or sexual harassment of vulnerable individuals.
Online sexual abuse of children involves activities by the perpetrator such as grooming the child to meet for the purpose of engaging in sexual intercourse or sexually abusing the child, persuading, encouraging, recruiting the child to record and share videos of their sexual activities via the internet, displaying pornographic content and activities to a child under 15 years of age.
Furthermore, any possession, display, sending, publishing, exchanging recordings or photographs depicting the genital organs of a child or depicting a child under 18 years of age engaging in sexually explicit behavior or knowingly accessing such content constitutes a criminal offense.
Exploiting children for pornography, acquainting children with pornography, and using computer networks or communication through other technical means to commit criminal offenses of sexual abuse or exploitation of children are incriminations aimed at protecting children online in the Criminal Code of Republika Srpska and represent one of the focuses in the fight against crime, which represents traditional crime but can also be committed using computers or computer equipment due to its specificities.
The new Criminal Code, which entered into force in June 2017, significantly improved the incriminations with the aim of protecting children, and the concept of a child has been expanded to include all persons under 18 years of age.
How to protect yourself?
The perpetrator of this criminal offense can be anyone (from persons known to the child's environment to completely unknown persons, from adolescents to adults).
The best form of protection for children is to establish a relationship of complete trust between parents and the child, to whom the child could turn at any time to seek and receive understanding, help, and security.
Carefully listen to the child when they want to express how they feel, do not interrupt them, avoid shock and disappointment reactions, provide them with full support.
Believe that the child is telling the truth until proven otherwise.
Educate children and youth on how to use the internet safely and ensure parental supervision when using the internet.
If a child says they have met a new friend online, explain to them that everything they know about that friend is what that person has written about themselves, which may not be true at all, and that you never know who is "on the other side of the screen".
Be careful in choosing "new" friends (a friend should be someone personally known to the child in real life).
Do not respond to messages received from unknown persons or from an unknown number containing inappropriate, suggestive content, or content that makes the child feel uncomfortable.
Do not disclose personal data about yourself and your identity.
Do not send photos of yourself or family members.
Do not disclose your usernames and passwords to anyone (they should only be known to the child and parents).
Do not continue conversations that make the child feel uncomfortable or become too personal (end such conversations and inform parents about them).
If you receive a message with disturbing or inappropriate content, in which someone asks the child to send their photos without clothes, do not respond to it and inform your parents or another trusted person.
Save the received data and photographs from the mobile phone or computer to help the police in the search for the person sending the mentioned messages.
Do not agree to meet with people you meet online.
What if it happens?
Report to the Ministry of the Interior of Republika Srpska as soon as possible.
Save the content of received messages, photographs, or video recordings as well as other data on your mobile phone or any other device.
Do not continue the conversation with that person.