It might seem to be a small, innocuous number. But 105 reports of child abuse over the internet in the last six months of last year – more than one report every two days – ought to raise concern.

As with other, similar types of crime, the number of such reports is normally the tip of the iceberg. This therefore means that there must have been many other instances of child abuse over the internet which remained unreported.

The 105 reports were received by Agenzija Appogg’s Supportline 179 hotline service between July and December last year, and included images of child pornography and malicious contact with minors in chatrooms, through emails or peer-to-peer networks.

According to the foundation’s first annual report, 27 of these alleged cases were found to be true and were passed on to the cybercrime unit of the police force.

It has often been said that the internet is a world of knowledge that has many good points; but on the other hand it has its bad sides too, and abuse of children over the internet is just one of the ways that the internet can be used wrongly.

People who watch Italian television stations can come across an advert that is often screened during peak hours these days – it shows a mother who receives instructions from her child that a certain recipe can be found on the computer, but the mother unfortunately does not know how to use the computer. The idea behind the advert is to encourage parents to learn the basic skills of using a computer.

It is perhaps an idea that should be taken up locally too. The Family and Social Solidarity Ministry should team up with the Investment, Industry and IT Ministry to come up with a similar campaign in Malta, pushing older generations to learn how to use the computer at least to be able to know how it is being used by the younger ones.

Such a campaign has been missing in Malta, and the Family Ministry, through its various agencies that deal with such issues, should not procrastinate any further in this regard. With many children now having a computer in the home, it is of vital importance that their parents should be encouraged to know how to use it too.

Of course, the parents have a lot of responsibility in this regard as well. For one thing, those who do not know how to use a computer should make the effort to learn. They should also show an interest in what their children are doing on the computer, and not leave them on their own just to have some peace and quiet.

Equally important is that they should not allow their children to have computers in their rooms where it would be quite difficult to monitor what they are doing, which sites they are entering and with whom they are chatting. Minors should be under constant supervision by adults when they are using the computer.

The advert on the Italian TV makes this clear too – the computer the child is using is situated in the kitchen/living room, passing a strong message that young children should not have computers in their room.

Educators – and this, apart from parents includes also teachers – should make it a point to insist with their children/students to report any instances when they feel that something is not right. Often, abuse starts with little things and it is therefore imperative that children learn to report any kind of unusual behaviour they encounter on the internet, such as people who request to meet them or those who ask children to send their photos.

All in all, children should be taught from an early age to understand that the internet can be of great help to them in their studies and for them to expand their knowledge, but at the same time it could also be harmful in many ways.