Important and practical information for preventing online exploitation

Online sexual exploitation includes recruiting, live-streaming, consuming child sexual abuse material (formerly known as “child pornography”), and coercing and blackmailing children for sexual purposes. While the internet has been a positive catalyst for innovation, never before has it been easier for traffickers to hide their identities, make contact with children, photograph them and profit from these images of sexual abuse.

These challenges were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase in virtual schooling and activities for youth while parents continue to work means that students were increasingly left without adult supervision while online. This can lead youth to become more susceptible to dangerous parts of the internet with increasingly fewer role models and mentors who could potentially intervene in an exploitative situation. From Jan-Dec 2020, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children experienced a 97.5% increase in online enticement reports versus the same time period in 2019. ECPAT International reports the number of cases of online sexual exploitation of children have tripled in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Protecting our children in the real world means also protecting them in the virtual one. To help, ECPAT-USA is providing information for youth, parents and educators detailing the ways they can protect themselves and their children from sexual exploitation. Each guide is available for free online and can be easily downloaded and shared with others. Click above for more information. You can also be part of our work by supporting our programs.

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