BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Olga Levina, Development Director of Regional Public Organization of Social Projects in Sphere of Population’s Well-Being "Stellit" and tutor at the Faculty of Psychology of St. Petersburg State University, has taken part in elaborating and realizing more then 70 social sphere projects, including those on prevention of social exclusion, and has more than 10 publications to her name.

ABSTRACT

Parallel session: Responding to online risks
Presentation topic: Protection of and rehabilitation of victims of online sexual abuse in Russia

The use of the Internet in the Russian Federation is rapidly growing during the past ten years. In the period from 2000 to 2007 the Internet usage growth in the Russian Federation has composed 848% and among the advantages problems and challenges are also seen.

The research has demonstrated that in Russia, although the investigation and prosecution of cases of production and distribution of child pornography is in some cases quite successful, there are still problems that interfere with the maximum effectiveness. The first problem is the lack of human and technical resources. The second problem is the lack of child friendly procedures during the investigation and the court hearing. The research also demonstrated that the general trends in the countries are quite similar. The distribution of child abuse images in the region has benefited from the rapid development of the Internet, which provides opportunities for wider dissemination of these materials with limited risk due to the relative anonymity, imperfections of the legislation and difficulties in enforcing the laws. In addition to the existing challenges new dangers connected with the development of wireless communication were identified. A more collaborative approach between the various stakeholders was seen crucial to ensure child protection in the region.