Content Warning(s): Child abuse references.
Back-to-school season is upon us, which means excitement about a new year, opportunities to learn and grow, and the return to extracurricular activities. Amid the chaos, there is one topic that may not be top of mind. While we are busy buying supplies and textbooks, we need to also consider how schools, teachers and parents can work together to keep kids safe, especially online.
This school year, take a few moments to help protect kids online by taking the following three actions:
1. Learn about the issue.
Strong evidence gathered by multiple child protection agencies have found that 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys experience some form of sexual abuse before their 18th birthday.[1] Nine times out of 10, this abuse is at the hands of someone the victim knows.[2]
The advent of and increased reliance on technology has enabled offenders to more quickly and more easily gain direct contact with victims. 60% of adolescent girls have been contacted online by a stranger who made them feel uncomfortable.[3] Researchers have observed a three-fold increase in self-generated imagery depicting 7-10-year-olds, as they were increasingly targeted and groomed by internet predators on an industrial scale.[4]
These numbers are alarming, especially when parents have so much to navigate already. The good news is that organizations like members of the End OSEAC Coalition are working to address online sexual exploitation and abuse of children from a variety of angles – parent resources, school training and government policy reform.
2. Check out these resources.
To help you (and your children’s schools) confront this issue, below are resources from our members and partners about protecting kids online:
- Child Rescue Coalition: Pause Before You Post: 4 Tips for Safe Back-to-School Photos
- ChildFund International: Tips for Using Tech (Instagram)
- Department of Homeland Security: Know2Protect
- Enough Is Enough: Do’s and Don’ts to Ensuring a Safe Return to the New School Year
- International Justice Mission: Three Tips for Teaching Online Safety to Kids
- Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Taskforce: This is Sextortion
- National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: Back to School
- Protect Young Eyes: 5 Tech Questions to Ask Every School Principal
3. Be a voice for change.
As children navigate new classrooms, policymakers are coming off their own “summer break” and making the return to the halls of Congress. With a few months left in this congressional cycle – and it being an election year – time is tight. We are actively engaging congressional offices with the goal of moving key legislation through to law.
Together with our Survivors Council, we are urging Congress to pass several pending online child safety bills before the end of the year, including EARN IT Act (S.1207 / H.R.2732), KOSA (S.1409/H.R.7891), SHIELD Act (S.415/H.R.3686).
Sound the alarm about kids’ online safety by discussing the issue and sharing resources with your community – then ask your elected officials what they are doing about this problem.
[1] https://childrescuecoalition.org/the-issue/
[2] https://www.d2l.org/child-sexual-abuse/statistics/
[3] https://www.parentprotech.com/site/home
[4] https://endoseac.org/
