Johannesburg — SA's private sector is to join forces with non-government organisations (NGOs) and law enforcement agencies to create a task force to fight child pornography on the Internet.

This emerged after a round table discussion on online child safety held in Durban yesterday.

Delegates heard that the average age of Internet users' first exposure to pornography is 11 years and that the biggest consumers of Internet pornography are aged between 12 and 17 years.

The discussion revealed that the victimisation of children continues to grow at unprecedented levels, with statistics showing that one in five Internet users younger than 17 years have received sexual advances online.

"Children need to be actively taught about the risks involved with being online and the steps they can take to help protect themselves," says Colin Erasmus, security manager at Microsoft South Africa.

"The Internet has proven itself as a valuable tool for education, business, entertainment and communication, yet there are perils associated with it. These concerns are most prevalent with regard to the Internet's youngest users, who are less equipped to protect themselves from potential harm," says Erasmus.

Delegates also concluded that more local research is needed into the scope of the problem in SA.

The discussions were part of the third series of discussions on child online safety around the country.

The meeting included representatives from government, child protection groups, NGOs and the private sector. Ethekwini Metro Council's deputy mayor, Logie Naidoo, and chairman of the Films and Publications Board, Ivay Chetty, also attended.