Contact: Don Feder, World Congress of Families, 508-405-1337, dfeder@rcn.com; Larry Jacobs, The Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society, 815-964-5819, media@worldcongress.org

ROCKFORD, Ill., Feb. 6, 2013 /Standard Newswire/ -- The IV Forum for Internet Safety will take place in Moscow on February 7 at RIA-Novosti (Russia's leading news agency).  The Safe Internet Forum 2013 has been designated a World Congress of Families Regional Event and is being organized by the Safe Internet League, chaired by Denis Davydov.

Alexey Y. Komov, WCF Representative in Russia and the CIS, is a board member of the League and a keynote speaker at the Forum.

Among the distinguished international speakers are Calvina Fay (Executive Director of the US-based Drug Free America Foundation), Dr. Judith Reisman (author of "Soft Porn Plays Hardball: It's Tragic Effects on Women, Children and the Family"), and Jack Hanick (Director of the Fox News Channel).  Dr. Janice Shaw Crouse has produced a paper on corrupting influences of the Internet which will be read at the Forum.  Dr. Crouse is Senior Fellow of the Beverly LaHaye Institute and a member of the WCF Management Committee.

Russian speakers include: Davydov, Igor Schegolev (Assistant to Russian President), Alexander Provotorov (CEO, Rostelecom ) and Nikolay Prianischnikov (CEO, Microsoft Russia).

The Safe Internet League notes that in the past decade:

• Sexual content involving children on the Internet has grown 2,500%
   
• In the same period, sexual violence against children increased 3,000%
   
• The United Nations reports that the United States, Russia and Thailand lead in the growth of illegal web content (promoting pornography, prostitution and drug trafficking)
   
• Almost 20% of Russian Internet users are children under 15-years-of-age. More than 4 million Russian children (ages 7 to 15) have unlimited access to the Internet, 24 hours a day.
   
• Close to 90% of Russian parents with children 6 to 12 years of age, are unaware of the risks associated with the Internet or how to protect their families from the same.

World Congress of Families Managing Director Larry Jacobs said the conference could not be more timely and necessary: "As the father of two adolescents, I well understand the physical and psychological dangers the Internet poses to the young and impressionable minds.  More parents need to be alerted to this real and growing menace and given the tools to counter it to make the Internet safe.  We're encouraged that our Russian friends are taking the lead in combating this 'cyber-scourge' and the global threat to children and the natural family.  We are honored to designate the 2013 Forum for Internet Safety in Moscow a World Congress of Families Regional Event."

For more information on the IV Forum For Internet Safety visit 2013.safetyforum.ru/en online or contact Alexey Komov at a.komov@worldcongress.ru.

Join us for World Congress of Families VIII: "Happy Families, Healthy Economy: A New Vision for National Prosperity and Social Progress:" which will bring together thousands of global leaders, scholars and activists in Sydney, Australia, May 15-18, 2013 to encourage and defend the natural family.  To register for WCF VII, click here or visit, www.worldcongress.com.au

To follow the activities of World Congress of Families in Russia and the planning of WCF VIII tentatively scheduled for September 9-11, 2014 at the Kremlin in Moscow, visit www.worldcongress.ru and www.familypolicy.ru.

Click here: www.worldcongress.org  for more information on World Congress of Families. To schedule an interview with Larry Jacobs, contact Don Feder at 508-405-1337 or dfeder@rcn.com.

The Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society (www.profam.org) is located in Rockford, Illinois and is an independent, non-profit research and education center that provides sound scholarship and effective strategies to affirm and defend the natural family, thus renewing a stable and free society.  The Howard Center is the publisher of the journal, "The Family In America" and is also the organizer of the World Congress of Families (WCF) project which is an international network of pro-family organizations, scholars, leaders and inter-faith people of goodwill from more than 80 countries that seek to restore the natural family as the fundamental social unit and the 'seedbed' of civil society (as found in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948).  The WCF was founded in 1997 by Dr. Allan Carlson, President of The Howard Center.  To date, there have been five World Congresses of Families - Prague (1997), Geneva (1999), Mexico City (2004), Warsaw, Poland (2007) and Amsterdam, The Netherlands (2009).  World Congress of Families VI was held in Madrid, Spain in May 25-27, 2012.  World Congress of Families VII  will be held in Sydney, Australia, May 15-18, 2013, www.wcfsydney2013.org.au.