Every second child who reports online sexual abuse is blackmailed by one of their peers

In 2019, the biggest challenge for siguronline.md counselors and the Child Safeguarding Team (CST) were the cases of online sexual abuse among adolescents. The number of such requests is increasing, and the response of the specialists is mainly detrimental to the child.

Every second child who has reported online sexual abuse has told us about being blackmailed or threatened by their peers. Although in 40% of cases, the children do not know who could have taken and published their intimate pictures, the style of the materials and actions indicate that the author is, highly likely, a teenager.

This is simply my last hope.

Every fifth teacher in the INTERSECTION community, which we created within the Issues Affecting Children Program, admitted that in their experience, they have encountered cases of online sexual blackmail (sextortion) with the involvement of several teenagers. In most cases, photos in which children appear in suggestive poses, in underwear or swimming costumes have become tools of humiliation and harassment of classmates. Classmates are often active witnesses of abuse, encouraging the blaming of the child-victim.

Elena BOTEZATU, Director of the Issues Affecting Children Program, La Strada Moldova: Teachers admit that they often don’t know how to manage these abuses. The reasons are very diverse: they don’t know how to recognize a case of sexual abuse online, they don’t have the proper training, or, even worse, some of their colleagues don’t perceive these situations as abuse. In turn, school psychologists often pass the responsibility onto police representatives by inviting them to take preventive/prophylactic actions in class. Furthermore, the impact of these actions is often more painful than the abuse itself.

Over time, the siguronline.md platform has become a trustworthy door, which children choose to knock on when they are blackmailed or abused in the online environment. Almost half of the abuse cases committed on the Internet, that the CST team worked on in 2019, were reported through this platform.

Please help me, I have a problem with the pictures, it's urgent. I do NOT want to involve my parents ...

The reasons why many children are reluctant to talk to their parents or the adults responsible for their education and protection come from the tense relationship they have with these adults, from the toxic reaction that parents have when they hear that their daughter or son "embarrassed them."

Elena BOTEZATU, Director of the Issues Affecting Children Program, La Strada Moldova: Every case of online sexual abuse between peers requires a complex and very cautious approach. Intervention strategies involve direct interaction with the child who was abused, but also working with the child who committed the abuse, the group of students who blame the victim. It is the area of ​​competence of the Issues Affecting Children Program of La Strada Moldova. As soon as the request is registered on siguronline.md, psychologists from the Child Safeguarding Team are involved.

For each underage beneficiary, a risk mitigation strategy is developed. The child is constantly counseled; technical measures may be recommended to block or delete harmful content from the online environment. The lawyer identifies possible elements of crimes, which would serve as a basis for police involvement. At the same time, siguronline.md specialists organize awareness activities in the educational institution where the child studies, involving teachers, parents, and students.

In 2019, the CST managed the highest number of cases since its inception. In total, the La Strada Moldova lawyer and psychologist managed 86 new cases of child abuse and sexual exploitation, referring to 112 underage victims. More than a third of these children (42) were sexually abused online.