Topic 1: Dangers of social networks

Title of the article:

Online child abuse spikes amid a pandemic

Source: https://bitly.com.vn/14c6ei

Vietnamese children face greater risks of sexual abuse with prolonged school
closures and online classes exposing them to exploitation via social networks.
A month before graduating, Khanh Ngoc, a high school student in Hanoi, received a
message from a strange Facebook account. Opening it, she encountered rude and
vulgar language, prompting her to immediately press delete. Even though she did not
respond, the account continued to harass her a few more times.

About a week later, while chatting with friends in an online group, Ngoc discovered
she was not the only victim since dozens of her friends at school had received similar
harassing messages.

The culprit pretended to be a member of the school's photography group taking

photos for the yearbook. The person messaged students to ask them for their photos,
using the excuse of "losing the original image files."

After obtaining the photos, the offender would set up fake accounts using these
images to post harassing messages online. Some of the photos even circulated on
Twitter and were posted on dark webs along with victims’ phone numbers.

"We reported it to the police, but the person used a lot of fake accounts, so it was
difficult to track down who it was," Ngoc said.

Global Threat Assessment published in mid-October by WeProtect, comprising over

200 governments, private sector companies and civil society organizations
combatting online child abuse and exploitation, stated: "Covid-19 created a 'perfect
storm' fueling a rise in the sexual exploitation and abuse of children across the globe"
during the past two years.

Accordingly, online sexual abuse and exploitation of children have reached their
highest level in many countries. For example, in the U.S., the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children processes 60,000 reports of the sexual abuse of
children online each day.
In Vietnam, experts said there have never been as many online child abuse cases as
now.

Nguyen Thi Thu Huong, deputy director of Vietnam Women's Academy, said during
the social distancing period, children are at a higher risk of being abused and
exploited online when exposed to social networks.

According to a report by the National Hotline on Child Protection 111, from May to
August 2021, about 600 cases of abuse and violence were received each month on
average, an increase of nearly 1.5 times compared to the first three months of this
year.

In 2020, the number of calls for intensive consultation on abusive and violent content
accounted for more than 47 percent, an increase of 7.2 percent compared to 2019.

Operator Nguyen Viet Dung recalled he received a call from an 8th-grade girl from
northern Ha Nam Province in September. Because she was sad about family problems
and studying pressure, she often shared negative emotions on her personal page. He
said a person actively connected with her, got acquainted, gave her gifts and slowly
gained her trust.

Then the suspect lured her to send photos or videos of sensitive body parts, saying
these videos were her "proof of love" and promising to "keep them private."

Gradually, this person forced her to send videos every day. When she didn't want to
continue, the person threatened to publish her old videos.

Experts have advised the girl that the danger behind this behaviour is defamation,
blackmail, even abuse in real life.

"Once the images are spread, it will be very difficult to control. When the children
call our hotline, we will also assist them in taking down the images and videos as
much as possible," Dung added.

Due to the pandemic and social distancing regulations, Vietnamese students aged six
and older have had to study online and use social networks to communicate with their
teachers and friends.

Nguyen Phuong Linh, director of Management and Sustainable Development

Institute (MSD), said they can face risks of being exploited and are vulnerable to
abuse, especially sexual abuse in the online environment.
"With the anonymity of the Internet, a child abuser can be anyone" Linh warned.

Abusive behaviour on the Internet manifests in a variety of ways, such as stealing

personal information, sexual abuse by threatening to post sensitive images, forced
sending pornographic images and videos, harassment via texting, sending verbal
attacks and threats and many others.

Abusers often approach children through forums, social networks, or chat rooms, or
online games. Then they build trust by praising, caring, giving gifts and money. The
abuser often creates sympathy for the child's emotions. When children are off guard,
they ask for photos, videos, and sensitive footage.

If children refuse, they threaten to tell their parents, friends or spread the pictures and
videos they already have. This stage is often beyond the ability of children to handle.

According to Nguyen Thi Nga, deputy director of the Department of Child Affairs,
there is currently a legal framework against online child abuse in Vietnam, with fines
of up to several tens of millions of dong (VND10 million = $438).

There are many ways to prevent children from being abused online, but there is no
better way than for parents to build companionship with their children, let them trust
and seek support when needed.

"Being friends with your child is not easy. Parents shouldn't play the role of
questioning 'police', or judging 'court' regarding their child's behaviour," Linh
advised. (850 words)

A. Wordlist

No. Words/Phrases Word Pronunciation Meaning

form (In English and Vietnamese)
1 vulgar adj /ˈvʌl.ɡər/ - not suitable, simple, dignified
or beautiful; not in the style
preferred by the upper classes of
society

- Thô tục, thô lỗ

2 harass verb /həˈræs/ - to continue to annoy or upset

someone over a period of time
 - quấy rối, quấy nhiễu

3 exploitation noun /ˌek.splɔɪˈteɪ.ʃən/ - the use of something in order to

get an advantage from it

- sự khai thác, sự bóc lột

4 consultation noun /ˌkɒn.sʌlˈteɪ.ʃən/ - the process of discussing

something with someone in order
to get their advice or opinion
about it

- sự tham khảo, sự tham vấn

5 framework noun /ˈfreɪmwɜːk/ - the parts of a building or an

object that support its weight
and give it shape

- khung sườn

6 culprit noun /ˈkʌl.prɪt/ - a person who has done

something wrong or against the
law

- thủ phạm, người phạm tội

7 abuse verb /əˈbjuːz/ - the use of something in a way

that is wrong or harmful

- lạm dụng

8 anonymity noun /ˌæn.ɒnˈɪm.ə.ti/ - the situation in which

someone's name is not given or
known

- ẩn danh

9 pornographic adj /ˌpɔː.nəˈɡræf.ik/ - intended to make people feel

sexually excited by showing
naked people or sexual acts,
usually in a way that many other
people find offensive

- khơi gợi ham muốn sinh lý

10 cyber-bullying verb /saɪ.bər-ˈbʊl.i.ɪŋ/ - the use of electronic
communication to bully a
person, typically by sending
messages of an intimidating or
threatening nature.

- bắt nạt trực tuyến

11 violence noun /ˈvaɪə.ləns/ - actions or words that are

intended to hurt people

- sự bạo lực

12 defamation noun /ˌdef.əˈmeɪ.ʃən/ - the action of damaging the

reputation of a person or group
by saying or writing bad things
about them that are not true

- sự bôi nhọ, sự nói xấu

13 vulnerable adj /ˈvʌl.nər.ə.bəl/ - weak and easily hurt physically

or emotionally

- dễ bị tổn thương, dễ bị tấn

công

14 manifest verb /ˈmæn.ɪ.fest/ - to show something clearly,

through signs or actions

- rõ ràng, hiển nhiên

15 companionship noun /kəmˈpæn.jən.ʃɪp/ - the enjoyment of spending time

with other people

- tình bạn

16 Track down P - to search for someone or

something

- theo manh mối tìm kiếm

17 Off- guard adj - unprepared for a surprise
or difficulty
- mất cảnh giác
B. Summary (150-200 words)

With longer school closures and online lessons exposing them to exploitation via
social networks, Vietnamese children in general and national children, in particular,
are at a higher risk of sexual assault. After getting the photographs, the offender
would create bogus accounts and publish nasty messages online utilizing these
images. WeProtect - a coalition of over 200 governments, private sector companies,
and civil society organizations combating online child abuse and exploitation stated
in a mid-October Global Threat Assessment that "Covid-19 created a 'perfect storm'
fueling a rise in the sexual exploitation and abuse of children across the globe" over
the previous two years. Children are more likely to be mistreated and exploited online
during social distance time, according to Nguyen Thi Thu Huong, deputy head of the
Vietnam Women's Academy. According to a study by the National Hotline on Child
Protection 111, from May to August 2021, almost 600 reports of abuse and violence
were received each month on average, an increase of roughly 1.5 times compared to
the first three months of this year. They are prone to be used and abused, according to
Nguyen Phuong Linh, head of the Management and Sustainable Development
Institute (MSD). On the Internet, abusive behaviour may take various forms,
including stealing personal information, sexual abuse by threatening to disclose
sensitive photographs, the forced transmission of pornographic images and films,
harassment via SMS, cyber-bullying, verbal attacks and threats, and more. That’s
why parents and their children should thoroughly understand each other
C. Reflection (150 words)
"Being friends with your child is not easy. Parents shouldn't play the role of
questioning 'police', or judging 'court' regarding their child's behaviour,"

What do you think about this?

Nowadays, children are easily abused by anonymous people since they had to learn
via social networks. It is very normal for children to behave improperly because
children are too young and are not highly aware of the problems they cause. That
makes the parents unable to be patient and leads to ineffective teaching methods such
as threatening by using “police”, threatening children through bogus characters or
spreading online and adversely affecting the psycho of children. Not only that, but it
also affects children’s personalities and immature thoughts such as the shy and
anxious because they are too obsessed with the words of their parents. It brings about
pressure from problems that cannot be solved on their own. In our opinion, the best
educational way to protect your child is through interaction. Therefore, What parents
must do here is gain their children's trust and from there, children can more easily
open their hearts, trust and understand their parents. ( 159 words)

Group members

The progress in completing the work is still slow and delayed. There are also
disagreements in the group, lack of sense of responsibility in building and completing
the lesson individually.

Student ID Full name Contribution

What did each team member do?

24A4012706 Nguyễn Huy Bảo (C) - Create Wordlist

- Find the topic and the news
- Create summary
- Highlight key sentences,
keywords
- Contribute opinions
- Overall check, members
evaluation
24A4030470 Nguyễn Thanh Thảo - Create Wordlist
- Find the topic and the news
 - Her English isn’t good but she
is very responsible and
progressive
24A4011886 Phạm Minh Tiến - Create reflection
- Find the topic and the news
- Contribute opinions
24A4012976 Giáp Quỳnh Phương - highlight key sentences,
keywords
- Create Reflection
- Find the topic and the news
- Contribute opinions