Protection of Children Against Online Harassment: Qualitative Data, Child-Centered and Intercultural in Nature to Guide Prevention and Response to Harassment (Colombia, 2025)

The study addressed the following key questions:

• How do children in different contexts perceive whether it is safe or not to connect with a stranger?
• What tools and strategies do they use to stay safe?
• To what extent do gender, age, and culture affect children’s online interactions with strangers?
• What could motivate children to report unwanted contact from strangers online?
• What do children need from governments, technology platforms, NGOs, educators, and parents to enable them to effectively prevent or respond to online harassment incidents?

By listening closely to children, the study aimed to identify how governments, technology platforms, services, educators, and parents in each country could incorporate children’s ideas into the design of policies, programs, product features, and systemic changes that are more effective in supporting children in preventing, responding to, and reporting online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA). We hope that the data contained in this report can productively inform policies and practices aimed at improving online safety for children in Colombia.