The President of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA-Ghana), Ms. Afua Brown-Eyeson has been appointed the Lead for the Child Online Protection (COP) Division of the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) effective 1st February 2022.
Ms. Afua Brown-Eyeson will work with relevant stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of the COP provisions in the Cybersecurity Act 2020 (Act 1038).
In a statement issued by the Cyber Security Authority and signed by its, Director General, Dr. Albert Antwi Boasiako, Ms. Eyeson will further engage with national-level stakeholders to increase commitment to child sexual exploitation and abuse prevention and response and lead in the development of appropriate support services for victims, including prosecutions of child online sexual offences.
“Sections 62-67 of the Cybersecurity Act 2020, (Act 1038), criminalises child online abuses including the production, viewing, and distribution of child sexual abuse materials, online grooming of children, cyberstalking of a child, and sextortion. Upon conviction, the Act penalises such offences up to 25 years.”
It said a 2021 UNICEF report reveals that, globally, 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 13 boys have been sexually exploited or abused by electronic means before reaching the age of 18.
“A report from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children also indicates that more than 13,000 images and videos of child sexual abuse were accessed or uploaded from Ghana in 2020; highlighting the need for an improved and collective national response to protect the Ghanaian child.”
Quoting the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Dr. Antwi Boasiako said “the protection of children online is one of the cybersecurity priorities of the government”.
“The government of Ghana is therefore committed to promoting a safe and positive use of the internet among children and young people even as we continue to drive Ghana’s digitalisation agenda.”
Ms. Brown-Eyeson enrolled as a lawyer 21 years ago.
She is a legal consultant, a court-certified advocacy specialist for children in Georgia, USA, chairperson of the West Africa and Ghana chapters of Women in Law and Development in Africa (WILDAF – West Africa and WILDAF – Ghana), a member of the Domestic Violence Management Board and a former lecturer at the Ghana School of Law.
By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey