Prevalence of Online Sexual Offenses Against Children in the US
Date
2022
Journal Title
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Publisher
JAMA Network Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Sexual 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.
OBJECTIVE To examine the frequency and characteristics of online and technology-facilitated
sexual abuse against children and youth.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In 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 MEASURES Participants 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.
RESULTS A 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 RELEVANCE The 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
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Keywords
exploitation, intervention, internet, Online sexual offending, technology, prevention, survey, images
Citation
Finkelhor, D., Turner, H., & Colburn, D. (2022). Prevalence of Online Sexual Offenses Against Children in the US. JAMA Network Open, 5(10), e2234471-e2234471.