Prevalence of Online Sexual Offenses Against Children in the US

Abstract

ImportanceSexual abuse is increasingly facilitated by technology, but the prevalence and dynamics of such offenses have not been well delineated, making it difficult to design prevention strategies.ObjectiveTo examine the frequency and characteristics of online and technology-facilitated sexual abuse against children and youth.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsIn this nationally representative online survey study performed from November 19 to December 29, 2021, young adults aged 18 to 28 years were asked retrospectively about their childhood (<18 years) experiences of online and technology-facilitated abuse. The 2639 participants were sampled from an online panel.Main Outcomes and MeasuresParticipants were asked questions about 11 different kinds of online and technology-facilitated sexual abuse with follow-up questions about their dynamics and offenders. Prevalence rates were calculated for several cross-cutting concepts (online child sexual abuse, image-based sexual abuse, self-produced child sexual abuse images, nonconsensual sexting, online grooming by adults, revenge pornography, sextortion, and online commercial sexual exploitation). Survey weights were applied to obtain population prevalence estimates.ResultsA total of 2639 individuals (48.5% male, 49.8% female, and 1.8% other gender; 23.7% Hispanic, 12.6% non-Hispanic Black, 53.9% non-Hispanic White, 4.8% other race, and 5.0% ≥2 races) were surveyed. Childhood (before 18 years of age) prevalence rates were as follows: online child sexual abuse, 15.6% (SE, 1.0%); image-based sexual abuse, 11.0% (SE, 0.9%); self-produced child sexual abuse images, 7.2% (SE, 0.7%); nonconsensual sexting, 7.2% (SE, 0.7%); online grooming by adults, 5.4% (SE, 0.5%); revenge pornography, 3.1% (SE, 0.5%); sextortion, 3.5% (SE, 0.6%); and online commercial sexual exploitation, 1.7% (SE, 0.3%). The prime age of vulnerability across all categories was 13 to 17 years. Perpetrators in most categories were predominantly dating partners, friends, and acquaintances, not online strangers.Conclusions and RelevanceThe results of this national survey study suggest that a considerable portion of youth have experienced online child sexual abuse. Professionals planning prevention and intervention strategies for online sexual abuse should understand that dynamics include diverse episodes that are often extensions of dating abuse, sexual bullying, and sexual harassment, not only events perpetrated by adult internet predators.

Predictors of Online Child Sexual Abuse in a U.S. National Sample

“…In a recent study (Finkelhor, Turner, & Colburn, 2022), we found the lifetime prevalence of OCSA in a national sample of young adults was over 16 %. The experiences were varied, occurring across the age spectrum of youth and adolescence, and involving both peer and adult perpetrators who were intimate partners, offline friends, and acquaintances, as well as unknown persons met online (Finkelhor, Turner, & Colburn, 2022).…”

“…But, like their offline parallels, these offenses are interrelated (Finkelhor et al, 2021) and they need to be conceptualized and addressed in a more integrated way. In previous work (Finkelhor, Turner, & Coburn, 2022), we helped to advance this goal by developing the definition and operationalization of the more integrated concept of “online child sexual abuse” (OCSA), a more comprehensive concept that incorporates nonconsensual image taking or sharing, forced image recruitment, threatened sharing of sexual pictures, unwanted sexual talk, questions, or sexual act requests by adults, and commercial sexual exploitation, involving sex talk, images, or other sexual activity. In a recent study (Finkelhor, Turner, & Colburn, 2022), we found the lifetime prevalence of OCSA in a national sample of young adults was over 16 %.…”

“…In previous work (Finkelhor, Turner, & Coburn, 2022), we helped to advance this goal by developing the definition and operationalization of the more integrated concept of “online child sexual abuse” (OCSA), a more comprehensive concept that incorporates nonconsensual image taking or sharing, forced image recruitment, threatened sharing of sexual pictures, unwanted sexual talk, questions, or sexual act requests by adults, and commercial sexual exploitation, involving sex talk, images, or other sexual activity. In a recent study (Finkelhor, Turner, & Colburn, 2022), we found the lifetime prevalence of OCSA in a national sample of young adults was over 16 %. The experiences were varied, occurring across the age spectrum of youth and adolescence, and involving both peer and adult perpetrators who were intimate partners, offline friends, and acquaintances, as well as unknown persons met online (Finkelhor, Turner, & Colburn, 2022).…”

Encouraging greater empowerment for adolescents in consent procedures in social science research and policy projects

“…Arguments have been made that requiring parental consent for adolescents aged 16 years or older is an expression of overprotection 2,21–23 and may not be legally justified in social science research 2 . Perhaps, the same claim can be made for adolescents as young as 12 years given that adolescents have been shown to have a greater capacity and maturity to understand the significance of research and the implications of the risk and benefits to themselves than expected 2,17,24 .…”

Help-Seeking From Websites and Police in the Aftermath of Technology-Facilitated Victimization

“…Like other social activities, criminal offenses have been migrating to the digital environment. Recent research shows that over 15% of children and youth report technology-facilitated offenses, including unwanted sexual solicitation, non-consensual image sharing and taking, or sextortion (Finkelhor et al, 2022). Concerns have been raised about the harmful features of these digital offenses, including that technology has facilitated more ready access to children by predatory strangers and adults, that it has reduced inhibitions to aggression, and that is has heightened the impact by rendering the aggressions more socially visible, pervasive, and harder to escape from (Underwood & Ehrenreich, 2017).…”