Foundation Projects

The project strengthened the capabilities of existing 16 helpline ambassadors aged between 15 and 25 on the safe use of the Internet, based on the existing manual of SafeWeb. It also taught them how to report online abuse to Child Helpline Cambodia via the free helpline telephone mechanism.

The 16 helpline ambassadors organized 5 pilot echo awareness sessions on the safe use of the Internet to girls, and women in their communities of Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Siem Reap, Koh Kong, and Svay Rieng. Child Helpline Cambodia reviewed and edited the existing training manual “SafeWeb” to incorporate gender equality and friendly complaint and response mechanisms, which was a community based structure for reporting and response to abuse and violence both online and offline.

Additionally, the project supported the free helpline telephone mechanism and online question and answer platform 24/7 to empower girls and women with information on the safe use of the Internet and gender equality, response to reports on online abuse, and refer victims of abuse to access psycho-social support services.

Child Helpline Cambodia has organized a brief consultation with helpline ambassadors (girls and boys) in March 2018 on the design of helpline ambassador training in the area of Internet safety and the friendly reporting and response mechanism. The consultation revealed that women need to be able to protect themselves when using the Internet and social media due to the increasing use of smart phones. The female helpline ambassadors voiced their support for incorporating gender equality content and participatory approach into the SafeWeb manual. The helpline ambassador training program should have used more visual aids such as pictures and videos so that women and girls with low literacy can easily understand the contents.