International Child Helpline Day 2018: Costa Rica

Chicon-Pattern1-8

El Patronato Nacional de la Infancia — PANI, or the National Board of Children — is the governing body on the rights of children and youth in Costa Rica, and it has been campaigning against inappropriate relationships since 2017. Among other things, Law 9406 prohibits marriage with people under 18 years of age, and makes sexual relations with minors an imprisonable offence.

PANI’s campaign aims to increase children’s awareness of the strategies used by adults to contact them, manipulate them and initiate harmful relationships with them through the use of technologies and social networks. The goal is to empower people to report these situations to the 9-1-1 emergency system, or through contact with the PANI’s Line 1147.

They have published screenshots of the types of conversations that can happen through communication platforms like Whats App and others, showing the ways in which stalkers try to gain access to children and young people.