‘It’s staggering to see those numbers’: Incidents of online child sexual exploitation on the rise in Canada
More children are falling victim to online child sexual offences across Canada, a new federal report shows, with the COVID-19 pandemic playing a role in a recent surge in incidents.
The report, published by the Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics, analyzed the number of incidents of online child sexual exploitation and abuse between 2014 and 2020.
In 2020, there were 131 incidents of online child sexual exploitation and abuse per 100,000 children and youth in Canada, more than double the rate documented in 2014, when such cybercrime data was first nationally collected.
To use another metric, the number of total incidents jumped from 10,739 in 2014 to 29,028 in 2020.
"It’s staggering to see those numbers,“ said Signy Arnason, Associate Executive Director for the Manitoba-based Canadian Centre for Child Protection, which runs Cybertip.ca, Canada's national child sexual abuse and exploitation tip line.
"If we keep the current model in place, which is no rules and regulations online, we're going to keep seeing these numbers increase," she said.
The report noted the COVID-19 pandemic likely played a role in an uptick in incidents in 2020, which saw a 35 per cent increase in the rate of police-reported online child pornography compared to 2019.
“There's an increased amount of time online and it’s particularly affecting adolescents,” said Arnason, “We’re seeing luring, sextortion, doxing, all of this is happening to the teenage population.”
Most of those teenage victims are adolescent girls between the ages of 12 and 17, accounting for 73 per cent of identified victims, according to federal data.
In comparison, boys in the same age range made up 11 per cent of the total.
The new report also delved into regional differences across provinces and territories between 2018 and 2020.
Quebec accounted for the largest proportion of persons accused of online child sexual exploitation and abuse, at thirty-nine per cent.
When accounting for population, Quebec also had the highest rate across provinces, with eight people accused per 100,000 people in the province.
Manitoba was close behind, at a rate of seven people accused per 100,000 of the population, second among all provinces.
Most of the incidents involved child luring offences in Quebec and Manitoba, along with British Columbia.
Despite those findings, Arnason doesn’t think Manitoba has a bigger online child sexual exploitation problem than any other part of Canada.
“This problem exists everywhere,” she said, “There’s no ‘centre’ in this country or part that’s immune to this issue, that’s the nature of the Internet.”
The Canadian Centre for Child Protection is part of an advisory committee to Heritage Canada that is currently working on an online harms bill that will help form a regulatory framework for online safety.
“We've got to put a regulatory framework in place on the Internet because this just isn't working,” said Arnason.
“There's movement and that's important.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Robert Pickton stabbed with toothbrush and broken broom handle: victim's family
The family of one of Robert Pickton's victims says the convicted serial killer suffered an incredibly violent death at the hands of another inmate.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Oilers beat Stars, one win away from Stanley Cup berth
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored two power-play goals as Edmonton smothered the Dallas Stars 3-1 to take a 3-2 lead in the NHL's Western Conference final on Friday.
Is carbon pricing a politically feasible climate policy? Research says maybe not
Research suggests the Liberals may be fighting a losing battle, and some experts are urging policymakers to look for alternative policies to lower emissions, warning the threat of climate change is too dire to delay action.
Ex-husband charged with murder in death of Lumby, B.C., woman
The ex-husband of Tatjana Stefanski – the woman whose disappearance and death set the small town of Lumby, B.C., on edge last month – has been charged with her murder.
Republicans join Trump's attacks on justice system and campaign of vengeance after guilty verdict
Embracing Donald Trump's strategy of blaming the U.S. justice system after his historic guilty verdict, Republicans in Congress are fervently enlisting themselves in his campaign of vengeance and political retribution in the GOP bid to reclaim the White House.
U.S. defense secretary says war with China neither imminent nor unavoidable, stressing need for talks
United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told a gathering of top security officials Saturday that war with China was neither imminent nor unavoidable, despite rapidly escalating tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, stressing the importance of renewed dialogue between him and his Chinese counterpart in avoiding "miscalculations and misunderstandings."
Daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt files court petition to remove father's last name
A daughter of actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt filed paperwork to legally remove "Pitt" from her name on the day she turned 18.
U.K. ambassador to Mexico out after video allegedly shows him pointing a rifle at a colleague
The U.K.’s ambassador to Mexico has left his post after a video was posted on social media that purportedly shows him pointing an assault rifle at an embassy employee.