3 ways to help stop child sexual abuse online
By Danielle Lilly, ChildFund International
When you read the statistics surrounding the online sexual abuse and exploitation of children, or OSEAC, it is easy to feel completely overwhelmed and scared, especially if you’re a parent. Just a few of those alarming stats: Globally, 57% of girls and 48% of boys experienced an online sexual harm before reaching 18. Last year, 29.3 million reports of OSEAC were reported — an exponential jump from 2020, and these reports included 85 million files containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
The U.S. government has been slow to act. Big Tech has no impetus to make meaningful changes to their platforms, and chaos in the tech industry has opened up even more child protection concerns. Parents don’t know where to begin to keep their kids safe. And so the numbers grow and the problem worsens.
But there are things we can ALL do to help stop OSEAC for good. Here are three:
Raise global awareness on OSEAC
The UN recently recognized today, November 18th, as the World Day for Prevention, Healing and Justice to End Sexual Violence Against Children and Adolescents. This is a global day to mobilize, raise awareness promote support services and justice for victims of child sexual abuse. Follow The Brave Movement to help them spread the word about keeping kids safe from all kinds of abuse, online and off.
Tell your congressperson to support the END Child Exploitation Act
At ChildFund, our advocacy team is working hard to urge Congress to pass the End Network Distribution (END) of Child Exploitation Act. If passed, the Act would require tech platforms to hold on to OSEAC report data submitted to NCMEC’s CyberTipline, so that law enforcement agencies can actually keep up with the demand for justice, and more perpetrators can be caught.
Protect your own kids
Our friends at Thorn have some practical and meaningful tips for parents and other grown-ups who want to help keep the kids in their lives protected. These include conversation starters, what to look out for and how to monitor your kids online, and a guide to how kids actually use various platforms.
Children and young people have a right to safely access the internet to play, learn and socialize. It’s time that we all come together to make it a safe place for all.
About Danielle Lilly
Danielle leads ChildFund’s U.S. government and global advocacy efforts related to online sexual exploitation and abuse of children (OSEAC), violence against children, early childhood development and adolescent girls. She is also leading a new initiative to build greater consensus, collaboration and coordination between US-based NGOs and INGOs on OSEAC-related advocacy efforts.
