In the request submitted by the FUP to the Ministry of Education of the Canton of Sarajevo, it is requested that parents be immediately sent a warning to discuss with primary and secondary school students about the legal consequences of the illegal exchange of intimate content. As stated in the request, it followed the increasingly frequent cases of recording, saving and sharing explicit photos and videos among minors.
“The fact that they are children of the same age, alleged consent or mutual trust does not exclude criminal responsibility
nor does it diminish the seriousness of the consequences,” the text of the warning states, as well as that a child can be both a victim and a suspect at the same time.
Parents are recommended to talk to their children about responsible behavior in the digital space without delay, to be familiar with the applications and communication channels that children use and to make it clear to them that the exchange of intimate content is prohibited and dangerous.
“We especially point out that the statute of limitations for crimes committed against children begins to run only from the moment the child reaches the age of majority, which means that the consequences of such actions can have a long-term character and be legally relevant many years after the event itself,” the FUP states.
Melisa Mizdrak, Head of the Department for Student Welfare at the Ministry of Education of Sarajevo Canton, in an interview with Detector clarifies that together with the FUP, they previously planned an education on amendments to the Criminal Code of the Federation regarding violence in the digital space and psychological violence, which they had to cancel due to poor response.
With these amendments, the concept of psychological violence was introduced and it was stated that any abuse that violates the psychological integrity of another person is punished. If the crime is committed against a child, a person with a disability, out of hatred or through information and communication technologies, the punishment is from six months to five years in prison.
After that, FUP, explains Mizdrak, created this warning to parents and students, in which it is requested that this issue be discussed in the departmental community.
Member of the Board of Directors of the Council of Parents of Sarajevo Canton Dalibor Tanić for Detector says that schools were in charge of sharing information, that is, calls for education that were held in municipalities.
“There were about 100 parents at the lectures that were organized for parents of schools in the municipalities of Centar and Stari Grad. However, when it came to the municipalities of Vogošća and Ilijaš, it seems that it was not well organized. Parents from these municipalities were supposed to come to the education in Stari Grad, so only a few parents showed up. That was the reason to cancel the education,” explained Tanić and added that there was less interest from parents in the education organized by schools.
Tanić points out that this topic is hardly discussed among parents, but that does not mean that there are no cases where photos or videos with very explicit content were shared.
“I know of a specific case from a few years ago from a high school in Sarajevo, which was shared by the child’s parent at one of our meetings. There was abuse, photos were taken and shared on the Internet,” says Tanić.
He adds that in this particular case, the parent insisted that the students who took and published the photos remove the content from the networks, so that legal measures would not be taken.
Mizdrak explains that through communication with pedagogues and psychologists in schools, she heard that students often use artificial intelligence.
“In some schools, for example, students find a photo, put the head of a person, male or female, from the class, and then it is not the body of that person, but they share in these peer groups. It also has different elements that can endanger or elements of that psychological violence that is now recognized in the Criminal Code,” says Mizdrak.
Detector previously wrote that the first person in Bosnia and Herzegovina was arrested in Banja Luka for child pornography generated by artificial intelligence. Experts have stated that images generated by artificial intelligence always have a link to actual abused children.
Mizdrak says that the Ministry does not have data on the number of recorded cases concerning the possession, exchange and further dissemination of sexually explicit photos and videos involving minors, and that such cases are reported directly to the police since they are criminal acts.
He appeals to parents to get more involved in the upbringing and education of their children.
“As much as we try through schools, if we don’t have the same value system as the parents, we get lost somewhere in the educational work,” concludes Mizdrak.
The FUP states in its request that the education system is a key partner in the prevention of crimes against children and minors.
(TYPE/Source: Detektor.ba/Author: Elmedina Šabanović/Photo: Detektor)
