Prevalence of Online Sexual Offenses Against Children in the US

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dc.contributor.authorFinkelhor, D., Turner, H., & Colburn, D.
dc.date.accessioned2022-10-20T19:41:00Z
dc.date.available2022-10-20T19:41:00Z
dc.date.issued2022
dc.description.abstractIMPORTANCE 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 predatorsen_US
dc.identifier.citationFinkelhor, D., Turner, H., & Colburn, D. (2022). Prevalence of Online Sexual Offenses Against Children in the US. JAMA Network Open, 5(10), e2234471-e2234471.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://www.unh.edu/ccrc/sites/default/files/media/2022-10/online-sexual-offenses-against-children.pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11212/5580
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherJAMA Network Openen_US
dc.subjectexploitationen_US
dc.subjectinterventionen_US
dc.subjectinterneten_US
dc.subjectOnline sexual offendingen_US
dc.subjecttechnologyen_US
dc.subjectpreventionen_US
dc.subjectsurveyen_US
dc.subjectimagesen_US
dc.titlePrevalence of Online Sexual Offenses Against Children in the USen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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