Child Abuse During Summer Break
“Child abuse doesn’t take a summer break.” - Partners For Our Children.
During July and August, children and youth are out of watch of community safeguards, like teachers and extracurricular activity leaders. This can lead to young people who are experiencing abuse to go unnoticed. As a community, we must continue to be diligent and mindful of those who may be in danger.
A secondary concern is that children and youth are likely spending an increased amount of time on their cellphones, computers and gaming platforms during this time because they are not occupied with homework or in class.
While these devices do offer opportunities to entertain and connect with friends, they do come with a number of risks that children and youth may be vulnerable to.
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cybertip.ca saw an 88% increase in reports of online sexual exploitation. This drastic rise has been attributed to children and youth’s increased amount of time spent on their mobile and gaming devices.
A few risks that children and youth along with their caregivers should be aware of:
Sextortion: When an offender threatens to publicly share previously obtained sexual photos or videos of a child or youth to manipulate them into sharing additional content.
Online Luring: When someone connects with a child or youth through texting, social media and other online mediums for harmful and sexual purposes.
Exposure to explicit content: This happens when a young person mistakenly visits websites that expose them to inappropriate sexual material.
Exploitation of peers or self: This occurs when a child or youth creates, sends or shares sexual images or videos with others. Often referred to as “sexting”
Cyberbullying: Online harassment that occurs through cell phones, computers and other communication devices with the intention of harming another person.
According to the Integrated Child Exploitation (I.C.E.) Unit, a few tips you can act on as a parent or caregiver to help decrease the risk of a child or youth encountering danger online are:
Set up their social media accounts with them. This will help you to better understand the platforms they are using.
Assure there are restrictions set on their accounts and devices to reduce the likelihood they come across explicit and inappropriate content.
Adjust the privacy settings to keep them as protected as possible.
Regularly monitor the child or youth’s contact list and their account. Check to make sure their online actions are safe and that they are only in contact with people they know personally.
If you have any concerns about a child or youth’s safety, please don’t hesitate to report it. You could make a significant difference for someone in need.
To make a report:
Visit www.cybertip.ca
Edmonton Police Service Complaint Line: 780-423-4567
Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 or text CONNECT to 686868
Crime Stoppers: 1-800-222-8477
Or your local police/RCMP detachment.
Sources:
Cybertip.ca
Protectchildren.ca
Protectkidsonline.ca
I.C.E. Stream - https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=274586147742619&ref=watch_permalink