It all starts with a click or a swipe from their mouse or mobile device.
Children in Prince George and across BC are spending more time online due to the pandemic, however, so are internet predators.
Angela Gallant, Manager of Programs and Trauma Counselor at the Prince George Sexual Assault Centre, told MyPGNow.com their office is seeing a spike in phone calls when it comes to Child Sexual Exploitation.
“We know that with kids home from school child predators have taken advantage of the fact that kids are online much more now and for the kids, there is a loss of their community so they are not hanging out with friends anymore so the only way they can connect is on the internet.”
Gallant outlined a recent situation from somebody they are familiar with.
“We had a case where that, in fact, happened to one of our clients and some of the warning signs that were shared with us from this youth is that it started off with somebody presenting themselves as a kid their age and then slowly tells them they are a little bit older.”
She added the most common type of occurrence in the city is child luring.
“Many of our kids are asked to send nude images of themselves, that kind of where it starts. What we find is that the end game for predators is still to lure them out and meet them in person.”
“It’s not completely staying online, it starts there but the end game is to actually meet that child.”
Gallant also clarified a misconception people have on the topic.
“We often consider this online material to be child pornography and I want to put it out there that it’s not, these are exploitative images of children so I think it begins with how we talk about the issue.”
Child sexual exploitation is often done through messaging on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat and escalates in the sharing of photos or other acts.
The Sexual Assault Centre was recently awarded grant funding to build a program in PG that will focus on outreach activities to ensure any sexually exploited children aren’t isolated.
“The program will be called Sexually Exploited Youth Exiting Services and this used to be a program in our community quite a long time ago but fell by the wayside so we are rebirthing with the hope of ending sexual exploitation.”
The initiative will run in conjunction with the RCMP and Carrier Sekani and is projected to launch this fall.
As for what parents and children who may have fallen victim to this can do, Gallant said it all depends on how savvy the predator is.
“It’s really whether the RCMP can track down the predator or not. Some are pretty savvy in avoiding detection or using somebody else’s internet connection so it’s really about whether the police can track them down or not.”
Corporal Sharen Leung works with the RCMP’s Integrated Child Exploitation Unit (ICE) in the Lower Mainland.
She states a report from the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Crime Centre suggests rates have soared during COVID-19.
“There has been a spike in reports starting in April of 2020 and the numbers are still up compared to the numbers at this time last year.”
“The trend that we are seeing in BC is that the numbers are on the rise and this also covers different countries as well.”
Leung uncovered a disturbing trend among child predators.
“What is concerning is that there is more encouragement of creating nude materials in terms of child sexual abuse. It’s a really sad and unfortunate truth that there are people who go online with the sole purpose of abusing, manipulating and exploiting children”
Leung outlined that even computer games are a popular place for these types of people to interact with kids.
“Call of Duty and Minecraft, which all have chat platforms and essentially, wherever kids play online that’s where predators will be as well.”
In addition, youth are often lulled into a false sense of security when taking or sending pictures of themselves along with the upload of story options on social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat.
“Once a photo gets shared, sometimes there is information in that photo where the child might not be aware that the background might give away some indication of where that child lives or goes to school.”
“If you do a story, it often disappears after a certain period of time but the danger is a person can take snapshots of the video even though it is gone from the platform, which often gives a false sense of security,” added Leung.
A grooming process can also take place where a child is befriended and a relationship is built over a lengthy period of time.
“They will do this over an amount of time to be their friend, to perhaps give them gifts online or boost their self-esteem and be that friend that the child might not have available,” said Leung.
If you know of anyone that is fallen victim to child sexual exploitation, you can call the local Sexual Assault Centre at 250-564-8302 or head to Cybertip.ca.