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| Victims of Online Predators |
By Sharon Womack Doty, J.D., M.H.R.
Consultant to the VIRTUS® Programs
 Editor’s note: This article is based upon research from the Crimes Against Children Research Center [i]
Members of the media have sharpened their focus upon “online predators” since the late 1990s, when use of the Internet by young people started to flourish.[ii] The public has been inundated with stories that seem to indicate that predators are using the Internet to lure children and young people into sexual assaults.[iii] Some of these reports imply that law enforcement is facing an epidemic of such cases. A few years ago, in a training session on the East Coast, a participant left the training because we were not spending enough time on Internet crime and he was convinced that it was the source of most child sexual abuse. Research to the contrary did not convince him. Television said something different, and he believed the media.
A recent study of Internet crimes against children has proven enlightening about some of the issues surrounding this crime. Dr. David Finkelhor, and the team at the Crimes Against Children Research Center, recently completed part two of a study for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The study relied on telephone interviews with 10 to 17 year old young people. The interviews were conducted in 2000 and again in 2005.
In this article, we will look at some of the things the researchers learned about victims of online predators through the study. A later article will consider some of the characteristics of predators that became apparent during this study.
Although the majority of sexual abuse victims from other venues are under the age of 9,[iv] 99 percent of the victims of Internet crimes are ages 13 to 17.[v] It is older children who have more sophisticated Internet skills and are most likely to take risks with private information and willingly communicate with strangers online. These relationships often seem, to the young people, to be romantic encounters, but rather than learning about romance and intimacy in traditional face-to-face peer relationships, Internet relationships often are steeped in secrecy and isolation.[vi] Moreover, such relationships are formed quickly and intensely, thus involving greater self-disclosure. The lack of maturity in young teens can generate feelings in online relationships that are overwhelming and difficult for them to handle. These factors and others make older youth particularly vulnerable to seduction by online predators.
Predators use online communication to establish relationships of trust and convince young people to provide them with personal information. The relationship is nurtured over time and eventually conversations of sex and sexual advances lure children into chat rooms and one-on-one meetings that result in sexually abusive situations.[vii] In addition, evidence shows that chat rooms and instant messaging were more likely to lead to sexual solicitations than any communications on social networking sites.
Although many of the individual behaviors such as posting personal information did not necessarily increase the risk of sexual solicitation, a pattern of potentially risky behaviors that included posting personal information, increased the risk.[viii] Young teens were most likely to establish these patterns.
One of the recommendations resulting from the research is to expand education about these issues. Researchers noted that much of the focus has been on educating parents about how to manage and screen the Internet activities of their children. Parents are a receptive audience and are, therefore, the focus of many current prevention strategies. The research with young people suggests that the young people most vulnerable to the solicitations of Internet sex offenders are among those least likely to listen to or take advice from parents. Therefore, researchers advise targeting education and prevention programs directly at adolescents. They recommend using all available forms of media including other youth and authorities who have the trust and respect of young people.[ix]
Peers and “bystanders” are a particularly good audience for this prevention education. They know more about the activities of their friends, and they may be able to take preventive measures when they see someone drawn into a risky relationship online. Bystanders are people present in chat rooms when risky conversations are taking place. Educating them can help stop this crime.
The study suggests that prevention programs must be relevant and be able to hold an adolescent’s interest. Additionally, it should be part of a broader program of healthy sexual development guidance and instruction. Finally, the prevention programs should focus on the interactive aspects of the Internet rather than the “posting private information” elements. This is where the real risk lies. Prevention can make a definite difference in this arena.
There is much more to learn about online sexual offenses. However, the information contained in the newest research can assist us in helping those at risk. In the next article of this series, we will look at how Internet predators are the same and different from those who approach our children through daily in-person contact.
[i] Wolak, J, Finkelhor, D., Mitchell, K.J., Vbarra, M.L., Online “Predators” and their Victims: Myths, Realities and Implications for Prevention and Treatment.
[iv] Finkelhor, D., & Baron, L., (1986) High-risk children. In A sourcebook on child sexual abuse (pp. 60-88), Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
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