February 11, Pozirk. Belarusians have donated almost 50,000 rubels ($15,200) to help online bullying victims under a project by MTS, a mobile operator controlled by the government, and UNICEF, the United Nations agency for children.
The raised money will be used to train operators for the children’s crisis telephone line 8-801-100-16-11 and the UNICEF online platform kidspomogut.by, the MTS press office reported.
It noted that operators from Minsk’s Social Services Center for Families and Children provide online consultations on the website anonymously, free of charge, and around the clock. On average, about 2,000 people contact the line per year, and the number of visits to the site reaches 2 million.
“Cyberbullying is a modern challenge, and solving the problem requires innovative solutions and in-depth knowledge of the subject from specialists from all over the world,” UNICEF said.
“Experts need regular specialized training to have the necessary competencies to help children. In addition, systematic work is needed to develop a unified approach and expertise in the prevention, detection and response to online aggression,” it said.
