“Unfortunately, social media took away our privacy and exposed us to many risks and exploitation. There is no longer a private life; everything now is available to the public”.

This is how one of the female adolescents emphasized her opinion about cyber harassment and exploitation in society especially among youth age group, during the awareness raising campaign about cyber harassment and exploitation, which was implemented by SSSD’s team within GBV program in Homs, in cooperation with UNHCR.

The campaign held the title “Two-Edged Sword”, and targeted men, women and adolescents from both genders from local, displaced and newly returned communities in Shin and Al-Hosn regions.

The campaign aimed to raise awareness about the risks of cyber harassment and exploitation through social media platforms, considering it as a form of sexual harassment. In addition to discuss several methods of protection, and highlight the importance of reporting it when it happen.

During the activities, the beneficiaries clearly emphasized their concerns of being exposed to exploitation through social media one way or another.

 Some of the participants also shared their own experiences; a woman said, “I had an experience with exploitation before, which risked losing my marriage and kids.

Therefore, I advise you all, especially young girls, do not share personal information on any site, or leave your phones with your kids unsupervised, because they may leave the phone vulnerable to intrusion and spying”. One of the male adolescents said, “I do not oppose my sister having her own phone. I am against the uneducated use of the network, which may risk her safety and result many problems”.