Romanian Center for Missing & Sexually Exploited Children

 FOCUS, The Romanian Center for Missing & Exploited Children, is Taking the Lead in a Global Effort to Combat the Problem

BUCHAREST, ROMANIA—18, October, 2010.  Child disappearance and sexual exploitation is a global problem of human rights and children from Romania are at a greater risk than ever. Every year the number of missing children grows and the opening of borders causes an exponential increase in human trafficking for sexual exploitation.

According to Romanian Police statistics, about 3.000 children disappear each year. Regarding the type of the disappearance, most of them are runaways from home or from foster-care. These children, many of them fleeing from unstable families, are vulnerable to child prostitution, sexual exploitation, Internet child pornography, labor exploitation, hunger, violence and abuse.

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMIDEATE RELEASE
Bucharest 22nd September 2010

COMMON MEETING MISSING CHILDREN EUROPE AND NGOS IN BUCHAREST ON 116 000 PROJECTS
(THE EUROPEAN HOTLINE FOR MISSING CHILDREN)

At Focus proposal, for 3 days Bucharest held a common meeting on 116000 Projects regarding further implementing the European number 116 000 in other countries EU members. The main organizations involved in these projects were Missing Children Europe, project partners, NGOs operating/launching a 116 000 hotline, parents, law enforcement representatives and data protection authorities across Europe.

Focus got involved in the program implemented by MCE (Missing Children Europe), by means of which the number for missing children (116000) had become operational started with 25 May 2009 in Romania. At these discussions held in Bucharest Focus came with an expertise regarding operating 116 000 number for over a year now.

BUCHAREST 25 May 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On the International Missing Children's Day Focus is launching the campaign "I am informed therefore I am safe!"

Focus is signaling the start of the campaign "I am informed therefore i am safe!" marking the 25th of May (International Day of Missing Children) in kindergarten through events held in Bucharest, which will inform more than 5,000 parents and children about possible dangers that may lead to disappearances and how they must react when confronted directly with it.

The Romanian Police and the Romanian Center for Missing Children invites you today, 21 March (ytd), between 10.00-14.00, in Herestrau Park, Charles de Gaulle entrance, to take part in an open-air event, dedicated exclusively to the public. The event will include a presentation of the everyday activity of the policemen and the equipments they use in their missions.

The exhibition stands displaying modern equipment, used in the activity of the police, demonstrations of Romanian Police special forces and dog dressage exhibition, weapons and costumes exhibition of the Interventions and Special Actions Unit are just a few of the activities organized for celebrating the Romanian Police Day.

Bucharest, 9 February 2010

On the occasion of the International Safer Internet Day, FOCUS - The Romanian Center for Missing and Sexually Exploited Children launched Safernet.ro, a hotline available 24 h a day, for collecting and operating the reports concerning illegal or dangerous online content for children.

The Internet represents an inexaustible source of information and entertainment. But how many of us have encountered the dangers of the Internet? And moreover, how many report the illegal content found on the Internet?

Surveys of The London School of Economics and Political Science indicate that the majority of children have been at least once exposed to a potential online danger: websites which promote pornographic materials to which only adults have access (40%); extreme violence and racial hatred (325); threats and harrasment (20%), establishing meetings with strangers (9%). According to the European Commission Barometer, in Romania, 70% of the children access the Internet.