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Literature Review

Jolie Hartley

Child and Youth Care Program, Centennial College

CYCP 212: Advocacy & Children’s Rights

Richard Nash

February 27, 2023

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Online child sexual exploitation is the act of predatory adults tricking children below the age

of 18 to participate in sexual acts on the internet. But since the start of the pandemic, these

heinous acts have only grown in number in Canada due the growing online presence of children

since the start of the pandemic. According to Jones, 2021, children between the ages of 6 and 12

have been spending 6 to 13 hours a day on their devices. “School closures had a marked impact,

the study found, with screen time increasing from 2.6 to 5.9 hours on average during pandemic-

related school closures” (Jones, 2020, para. 8). A report by CBC News indicates that “abusers

have been taking advantage of children spending more time online” (Thompson, 2020). The

Government of Canada states that since the start of the pandemic there has been an 88% increase

in online child sexual exploitation (2023, para. 3). This means that “1 in 10 children are sexually

victimized before they turn 18” (The Government of Canada, 2023, para. 6). Online child sexual

exploitation is on the rise in Canada and with little signs of slowing down.

The common theme among these statistics is that online child sexual exploitation is

happening right under our noses; and the answer is social media. A popular video on YouTube

titled “Social Media Exposed by Mom Posing as 11-Year-Old” (Bark, 2020) shows the harsh

reality of every day online child sexual exploitation. In the video, Bark, a tech company which

helps parents monitor children’s digital data, set to catch predators on social media sites such as

Instagram. Bark created two fake social profiles, 15-year-old “Libby”, and 11-year-old “Bailey”.

Within the first 9 days of creating the social media profile for “Libby”, 92 adult men contacted

her on Instagram. Each of the conversations between the adult male and “Libby” ranged from

sexual conversations, coercion of sexual images, and even sexual threats (Bark, 2020). Each

male knew how old Libby was yet continued to sexually exploit “Libby” and her “perfect body”

one male user wrote her. Next, Bark launched “Bailey’s” profile on Instagram. Within the first 2
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minutes of “Bailey” being online, one user messaged her asking “do you even have boobs yet?”

He then responded with “hot” (Bark, 2020). Both profiles were met with severely graphic

messages sent by adult men to manipulate and coerce both girls with the objective of sexually

exploiting an underage child online.

Predators on these social media sites (such as Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, etc.) use the

same manipulation techniques to “befriend” and eventually sexually exploit children on the

internet. As exposed by cybertip.ca, online groomers will falsely identify themselves as a child,

use compliments, promise gifts, and pit children against parents (Child sexual abuse: Online

grooming, n.d., para 2, 3, 4, 5). Eventually predators will ask for sexual images, coerce children

to commit sexual acts, and in extreme cases ask to meet in-person. As also mentioned in the

video, most of the conversations between the predator and both children went as far as wanting

in-person meet ups. In a conversation with “Libby”, one older male was “relentless” as stated by

Bark (Bark, 2020, 5:40). A report Statistics Canada describes that between 2014 and 2020

“luring a child accounted for the large majority (77%) of online sexual offences against children”

(Ibrahim, 2022, para. 3).

As also published on YouTube; the case of Amanda Todd is a tragic reminder and example

of what the aftermath of online child sexual exploitation can look like. In 2012, a fifteen-year-old

Amanda Todd uploaded a video to YouTube telling her story of online child sexual exploitation.

In the video, Amanda, from British Columbia, explains she was coerced by an older male to

show her breasts on an online chat site. Amanda was tricked and the man took a photo of her

chest. Following that encounter, the man proceeded to threaten Amanda with sexually exploitive

acts. Amanda refused, and the man sent her photos to her peers in school. To cope, Amanda

turned to drugs, self-harm, and eventually committed suicide due to the onslaught of bullying
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and harassment Amanda received from both her classmates and her male abuser

(TheSomebodytoKnow, 2012). This is a tragic reminder of the deep and troubling mental health

affects which victims of online sexual exploitation face. Unfortunately, mental health providers

are struggling to keep up with the growing problem of online child sexual exploitation and the

severe mental anguish children experience regarding this issue. A peer reviewed article which

aims to understand how mental health providers can best respond to children who have been

exploited online studied “the perceived ability of mental healthcare workers to recognize and

respond to concerns… [of] sexual exploitation of their pediatric clients” (Dimitropoulos, et al.,

2021).

The study was conducted in Alberta, Canada where the present study examined “mental

health providers knowledge, recognition of, and ability to respond to concerns about internet

child sexual exploitation…” (Dimitropoulos, et al., 2021). The results showed that of the mental

health providers “83% of the participants worked with a children impacted by grooming, luring,

sexual abuse or sexual image distribution in the last year” (Dimitropolous, et al., 2021). The

study found that these mental health providers did feel a better sense of confidence and response

to their clients needs but the conclusion was that there was a need for improvement and

understanding about how technology is being used to exploit these young individuals on the

internet (Dimitropoulos, et al., 2021). This way, mental health providers can “respond effectively

to protect their clients” (Dimitropoulos, et al., 2021) and best understand how to serve youth in

the future. Due to this knowledge gap in the mental health profession, children are being

underserved in resources aimed to help and understand their needs. With studies like these,

professionals can work to learn and educate themselves on the growing issues of today. Children

who have fallen victim to the dangers of online child sexual exploitation may not be getting the
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services and supports they require. Children like Amanda Todd, desperately need appropriate

mental health services which aim to protect the rights of children in this growing digital age,

while supporting them emotionally in the present.

Online child sexual exploitation is not just a children’s rights issue in Canada, but also

around the world. Children continue to fall victim to dangerous individuals on the internet who

seek to sexually exploit them for their innocence. Parents continue to be uneducated surrounding

this issue as the world around them becomes more technologically dependent. The government

of Canada reports that “almost half of parents have never spoken to their children about

sextortion or sexting” (The Government of Canada, 2023). Although schools in Canada made it

mandatory to teach children online safety to students; it seems not enough is being done by

parents and educators. So, what can the Canadian Government do to help combat this every-

growing issue? Moderate social media sites to track suspicious and predatory behaviours. Social

media sites have shown that even with expensive online monitoring teams and technology, they

are failing to keep children safe on the internet. Lastly, advocate and spread awareness for the

rights and protection of children on the internet. The more the government spreads information

to parents, educators, and professionals; the more awareness, studies, and online monitoring can

be done to protect these innocent children who continually fall into the trap of predatory

behaviours on the internet. The government, schools, and parents are falling short to protect their

children and their right to safety on the internet. We need to continue to help children like

Amanda Todd and the many other victims who never received support from those around them.
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References

Bark. (2020, February 20). Social Media Dangers Exposed by Mom Posing as 11-Year-Old

[Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbg4hNHsc_8

Child sexual abuse: Online grooming. Cybertip.ca. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.cybertip.ca/en/child-sexual-abuse/grooming/

Dimitropoulos, G., Lindenbach, D., Devoe, D. J., Gunn, E., Cullen, O., Bhattarai, A., Kuntz, J.,
Binford, W., Patten, S. B., & Arnold, P. D. (2021). Experiences of Canadian mental health
providers in identifying and responding to online and in-person sexual abuse and
exploitation of their child and adolescent clients. Child Abuse & Neglect, 124.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105448

Ibrahim, D. (2022, May 12). Online child sexual exploitation and abuse in Canada: A statistical
profile of police-reported incidents and court charges, 2014 to 2020. Statistics Canada.
Retrieved from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2022001/article/00008-
eng.htm

Jones, A. M. (2021, October 21). Children spent triple the recommended screen time during
pandemic: Ontario Study. CTV News. Retrieved from
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/children-spent-triple-the-recommended-screen-time-
during-pandemic-ontario-study-1.5633247

The Government of Canada. (2023, January 3). Infographic - Online Child Sexual Exploitation.
Canada.ca. Retrieved from
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-safety-canada/campaigns/online-child-sexual-
exploitation/infographic-online-child-sexual-exploitation.html
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TheSomebodytoKnow. (2012, September 7). My story: Struggling, bullying, suicide, self harm
[Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOHXGNx-E7E

Thompson, E. (2020, July 13). Child sex exploitation is on the rise in Canada during the
pandemic. CBC News. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/pandemic-child-
sexual-abuse-1.5645315