Online child sexual exploitation and child sexual abuse increased in Canada from 2014 to 2020, according to a compilation of data released Thursday by Statistics Canada. These numbers include a slight increase in the first year of the pandemic.
For example, in 2020, the total rate of online child sexual exploitation and incidents of child sexual abuse will be 131 per 100,000 children and adolescents, compared to 50 per 100,000 six years ago. .
Police reported a total of 10,739 incidents of online sexual offenses against children during this period and 29,028 involving online child pornography. An incident is reported as an online sexual offense if police have identified the child involved or as online child pornography otherwise.
Sexual exploitation and the pandemic
Rates of online child sexual exploitation and abuse rose in the first year of the health crisis as part of the overall rise in cybercrime, Statistics Canada said. Child pornography crime rates were approximately a third higher in 2020 than in 2019, while rising by 22%.
Professor emeritus of law at Dalhousie University, Wayne MacKay, said the numbers narcotics raise concerns about the changing nature of child sex crimes.
Although better surveillance of cybercrime may have explained some of the increase during the study period, research suggested that online child sexual abuse is often unreported, Mr. MacKay said.
” The message from this data is pretty clear: we still have a big problem with cybercrime and the sexual exploitation of children. This is clearly unacceptable, especially when […] you look at the devastating fate of the victims where it changed their lives. “
Statistics Canada, however, suggests that although the number of crimes of this type may increase, part of the increase may also be due to the fact that police officers are more trained to detect these crimes and the victims are more willing to report. they.
From 2014 to 2020, child attraction accounted for 77% of online child sex offenses in which a victim was identified, followed by the unintentional distribution of intimate photos, reaching 11% and invitations to sexual touching, 8%. Of the cases of child pornography, 68% were involved in the manufacture or distribution of child pornography.
The federal agency observed that in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, police-reported cybercrime increased by 31% compared to 2019. Meanwhile, there was an overall decrease in police-reported crime rates, including the sexual assault, after several years of increase.
The data states that 73% of victims of child sexual exploitation and online sexual violence are girls between the ages of 12 and 17, and 13% are girls under 12 years old.
On the other hand, 91% of those allegedly guilty of online child sexual exploitation and child sexual abuse are men and boys: 35% of them are between 25 and 44 years old, 20 % were between 18 and 24 years old, and 18 % were 45 years old and older.
For online child sex offenses, the accused is more likely to be identified as strangers and casual acquaintances. However, the relationship between the victim and the accused will vary depending on the type of offense and the people involved.
In nearly half of the cases of non-consensual distribution of intimate images, the culprit was identified as an intimate partner or friend, according to the report. More than two-thirds of the defendants were boys between the ages of 12 and 17 and 22% were girls of the same age.
Statistics Canada reported that such incidents were to be expected, as the lockdown introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic had the effect of reducing the chances of crimes being committed in person. Conversely, increasing time spent online during a pandemic may have increased the opportunities for committing crimes online.
Finally, Statistics Canada observed that a small number of child pornography cases were resolved by the police.
Source: Radio-Canada
