The Gulf Cooperation Council's Health Council launched the "What He Remains Silent" campaign, which seeks to shed light on electronic extortion of children in its various forms.

He said in a statement that many children are subjected to blackmail in many ways, including electronic games and social media platforms, noting that the matter includes emotional, moral and material blackmail.

The Gulf Council called on parents to follow up on some of the things that indicate their children are being blackmailed, including: changes in sleep, increased anxiety and nervousness, loss of enjoyment in activities, and avoiding spending more time with family and friends.

He advised talking with children and listening to them if they are blackmailed and reviewing what is happening with them to prevent its recurrence in the future, stressing the importance of staying away from emotion, and not making the child feel guilty.

The Gulf Health Council pointed out that the extortion operations take place through specific steps:

  • Get to know the child gradually.

  • Gather information about him, his interests, and his private life.

  • Build a close relationship with the child.

  • Baby photo and video collection.

  • Impact on the child's trust in his family.

blackmail signs

The Gulf Health Council indicated that asking for unusual amounts of money, and spending more time on the Internet and secretly, are also among the signs of extortion.

He also stressed the need to prevent the child from communicating with the blackmailer, ban him, and delete all conversations that took place between them, with the need to keep evidence of the child being blackmailed, as a copy of the conversations and then report the incident to the concerned authorities.

The Council pointed out the need to show interest in children and participate in their daily activities, and to verify the appropriateness of electronic games for their ages before purchasing or downloading them.

In addition, the council also advised the need to teach the child many things to avoid falling into the trap of blackmail, including how to operate phone or computer cameras, and not to put them in sleeping places.

The Gulf campaign advises parents to talk to their children (Qatari Press)

Preventative measurements

Among the things that the council stressed: teaching the child not to share private photos or immoral videos, and not to publish contact information about him or his family, and then frankly with the parents quickly if he is blackmailed.

"What he keeps silent about" is a series of awareness campaigns, the first of which was launched under the title "The Case of Child Harassment", and now the "electronic extortion of children" campaign is launched.

The campaign seeks to spread awareness among all societies in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and to raise awareness in various health, psychological and social trends.

It is noteworthy that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation recently indicated that about 500,000 blackmailers practice their online activities with children between the ages of 12 and 15 around the world every day.

The statistic stated that 50% of the victims of extortion are between the ages of 12 and 15, and this is done through online chatting sites.

The statistic stated that two out of 10 children between the ages of 8 and 11 are aware of the danger of extortion and are afraid that their private information will appear to strangers, as they are keen to hide their private data on social media.