BELMOPAN, Belize (CMC) — The National Committee for Families and Children (NCFC) Friday said it remained deeply concerned about the most “recent hideous act of leaked sex tapes with alleged under-aged girls” on the social website, Facebook.

NCFC, which says it has a mandate to advocate for the protection of all children, said media reports over the weekend had reported that the videos of young girls engaged in sexual activities were posted on social media and shared hundreds of times.

“The leaked tapes have not only caused pandemonium but were most alarming since some of the participants appeared to be minors and somewhat inebriated.”

It said that the release of the sex tapes also violate Articles 19 and 34 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child which states that, “Children should be protected from being hurt and mistreated in body or mind and to be free from all forms of sexual abuse”.

“This type of action is a form of cyberbullying that can have adverse psychological effects on the participants, such as depression and suicidal ideation.

“As parents, we need to exercise some level of control and scrutiny with regards to what our children are doing when using social media or watching television. As we start the new year, NCFC strongly discourages the negative use of social media to scar and demoralise our young people.

“We also call on our young people to be mindful of the use of social media, as the negative use can have lifelong consequences,” NCFC said, reiterating its position “that sexual abuse of any sort against our children must stop”.