This is the 9th of

10 conversations

about preventing

child sexual abuse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next Conversation:

#10  The Public's Opinion on Child Sexual Abuse 

Public Believes Prevention

is Possible

 

 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reporting suspected child sexual abuse is everyone's responsibility - whether a mandated reporter or private citizen. If you suspect a child has been sexually abused, contact your local child protective services. To locate the child protective services reporting number in your state, as well as other resources, call Childhelp at

800-4-A-CHILD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for your commitment to

protecting children.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

© 2019, Massachusetts Citizens for Children Inc.

 

Permission to copy, disseminate or otherwise use information from this report is granted as long as Enough Abuse Campaign/Massachusetts Citizens for Children is identified as the source. 

 

 

We are all surrounded by technology - the internet, cell phones, texts, instant messaging services, chat rooms, emails, gaming consoles and social networks. And it is constantly evolving.

 

While there are a great many benefits, there are also associated risks. Unfortunately, children and teenagers are often not aware of these risks or don’t fully understand the real-life implications of what they do while online. Don’t be uninformed. Understand the scope of the problem of child sexual exploitation while online, learn how to reduce your child’s risk and what you can do to protect them.

 

You should know that:

  • Only 1/3 of households with Internet access are proactively protecting their children using filtering or blocking software. (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)
     
  • 75% of children are willing to share personal information online about themselves in exchange for goods and services. (eMarketer)
     
  • 71% of all parents reported that they stop monitoring their child’s use of the Internet after the child turns 14, not knowing that most of all Internet-related missing children are 15 years of age or older. (Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office)
     
  • One in 33 youth received an aggressive sexual solicitation in the past year. According to the survey, these young people are called on the phone or asked to meet somewhere by a strangers who use correspondence, money, or gifts via the U. S. Postal Service to contact them. (Youth Internet Safety Survey)
  • ​The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), the U.S.-based clearinghouse which receives reports of child sexual abuse imagery online from tech companies and refers them to law enforcement in the appropriate country or U.S. state, received 18.4 million reports of more than 45 million images of child sexual abuse imagery in 2018 alone, from countries worldwide. This epidemic is growing exponentially, and NCMEC, law enforcement agencies and technology companies are unable to keep up with this volume (The New York Times 2019).

According to the University of New Hampshire’s Crimes Against Children Research Center:

  • One in five U. S. teenagers who regularly log on to the Internet said they have received unwanted sexual solicitation via the Web. Solicitations are defined as requests to perform sexual activities or sexual talk, or to give personal sexual information.
     
  • 77% of the targets for online predators were age 14 or older. Another 22% were under 13.
     
  • Only 25% of solicited children were distressed by their encounters and told a parent.
     
  • Only 17% of youth and 11% of parents could name a specific authority, e.g. police, FBI, the CyberTipline, and Internet Service Providers, to which they could report an Internet crime.

 

 

Very few teen would ever send suggestive photos 

or images of themselves to their friends.

 

You decide.  One in five teens between the ages of 13 and 19 have shared nude or semi-nude images of themselves either via text or by posting online; over 1 in 10 have shared suggestive photos of themselves.  Teen girls are only slightly more likely to do this than boys.  (The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and Cosmogirl.com)

 

Sexting is sending nude or semi-nude pictures via cell phone or instant messenger. As technology has advanced and cell phones have the capability to record and send photos and video, the practice of sending suggestive and explicit pictures has increased, especially among teens. 

 

You should be aware that sexting involving minors may violate laws in your state and, in some states, is legally considered child pornography. In many cases the legal ramifications for a minor sexting, either pictures of him/herself or passing along the sexts of another minor, are quite serious. For more information regarding the laws on sexsing in your state call or visit your local District Attorney's office.

 

 

  1. Educate yourself about technology and the Internet. Go to www.enoughabuse.org and browse our list of state and national resources and links.
     
  2. Supervise your child when on the Internet and help them become responsible users.
     
  3. Start a conversation with your child about the benefits and risks of using technology.  Work together to establish age appropriate ground rules for Internet usage. By involving your children in discussions about rights, responsibilities, privacy, and personal safety they will be more likely to follow your family’s rules and establish their own personal standards of Internet safety.
     
  4. Keep the conversation going. As technology changes and your children grow older, you will want to revisit your family’s ground rules and continue educating your child or teenager on how to protect themselves, their private information, and how to be responsible users of technology.