Bishkek, May 21, 2026 /Kabar/. In recent years, Kyrgyzstan's child protection system has faced a new challenge: cybercrime. Nazgul Turdubekova, head of the Children's Rights Defenders League, told Kabar.
According to her, online crimes against children are becoming one of the main problems today. These include cybercrime, sexual exploitation, and the distribution of illegal content online.
"While crimes used to occur offline and were easier to control, today criminals have moved online." They use technologies and tools that children understand faster than their parents. However, the level of digital literacy among the population is still insufficient," she noted.
Turdubekova emphasized that many parents don't always understand that their child can become a victim of online crime. According to her, children as young as six are now using internet resources, and minors of all ages are victims of online violence and sexual exploitation.
She believes that one of the main challenges today is improving the digital literacy of parents, schoolchildren, and professionals working with children.
"It is necessary to strengthen the involvement of government agencies and develop a system for monitoring and evaluating the activities of agencies responsible for child protection. We need specialists who will focus on preventing cyberbullying and who will work digitally," she said.
The head of the foundation explained that social workers should be trained to identify signs of abuse, work with child victims, and educate parents and students about online safety.
Furthermore, she noted, child trafficking remains a pressing issue, as does the rise in cases of sexual violence against minors.
"This remains a serious problem both globally and in Kyrgyzstan," Turdubekova added.