Teens, Sexual Violence & Internet Safety: The Facts

• According to the Youth Internet Safety Survey (YISS) conducted in 2005, one in three U.S. Internet users aged 10 to 17 was exposed to unwanted sexual material (Wolak, Mitchell, and Finkelhor, 2006)

• According to the Youth Internet Safety Survey (YISS), one in seven U.S. Internet users aged 10 to 17 received unwanted sexual solicitations (Wolak, Mitchell, and Finkelhor, 2006)

• According to the Youth Internet Safety Survey (YISS), one in eleven U.S. Internet users aged 10 to 17 had been the recipient of threats or offensive behaviour over the past year (Wolak, Mitchell, and Finkelhor, 2006)

• less than 10% of children and youth sexually solicited over the Internet in 2005 reported the incident to law enforcement authorities, Internet service providers, or some other authority (Wolak, Mitchell, and Finkelhor, 2006)

• In the most recent two-year period, 2006 to 2007, a total of 464 incidents of child luring were reported by police services across Canada (2006 and 2007 Incident-based Uniform Crime Reported Surveys)

• More recently, incidents of child luring reported by these police services have increased. The number of police-reported child luring incidents in 2006 was 1.5 times greater than in 2005, and rose an additional 31% in 2007 (Child luring through the Internet By Jennifer Loughlin and Andrea Taylor-Butts, Statistics Canada, Juristat, March 2009)

• Cybertip.ca received a total of 21,000 tips about online child exploitation between its launch in 2002 and January 2008:
• 90% of tips were about child pornography,
• 8% of tips were about online child luring,
• 1% of tips were about children exploited through prostitution, and
• 1% of tips were about child sex tourism.

(Cybertip.ca. 2008b)

Arm yourself with Internet knowledge: Here are some tips to help protect yourself!

• Choose user names and emails carefully: for example, the user name sexy_sally_1984 reveals gender, name, and a possible age/year of birth

• Keep personal info private!

• Be careful with your pictures

• Be careful who you let view you through a webcam, and who you view through a webcam

• Take your time when getting to know somebody you’ve met online.  Be wary of new “friends” who want to talk to you on the telephone, meet you, or date you soon after you’ve met them

More Info and Help about the Internet and Staying Safe:

• www.kidshelpphone.ca

• www.advocatesforyouth.org

• www.safeonlineoutreach.com

• www.myspace.com/riseforyouth

• www.wiredpatrol.org

• www.cybertip.ca