to download the document in PDF format - Child Centre: Expert ...

and contain a small sample population. Unfortunately, at this point they represent the onlyresearch in this area.There have been some measures taken, such as prevention messages advising children notto talk to strangers or give personal information; however studies show that more workneeds to be done directly with the children and their families. Youth are more likely toform online relationships if they are troubled or in a bad relationship with their parents. Ifthere is a lot of conflict or not enough monitoring by parents, children become vulnerableto speak to strangers online. As well, children who are lonely, depressed, gay or victims ofsexual abuse are more prone to online relationships. 370 Many offenders offer victims drugsor alcohol to lure them into posing for pictures. It is not unusual for offenders to drugvictims before they abuse them. The child’s addiction to the drugs or alcohol may continueafter the abuse, making the victims crave drugs knowing that the offender will have more.Many of the children do not realise that these relationships are illegal or they do notconsider the publicity, embarrassment and life disruption it can cause. Often children donot know that the sexual pictures they may pose for may end up on the Internet.In an attempt to discourage illegal behaviour in chatrooms and to ward off pedophiles,Microsoft has closed free chatroom services in 28 countries. Sceptics believe that it is anattempt to get people to subscribe to their paid chatrooms. It has been said that, “they areshutting down services for which people are not paying and getting a good bit of P.R. outof it.” 371 This move is believed to divide the Internet community between the ‘haves’ and‘have nots’. At the same time, it may attract children to other more harmful sites, like IM.Social networking sites allow users to create their own content and share it with a groupof other individuals who share a common platform (i.e., attend the same school) or have asimilar interest (i.e., enjoy the same music). There are many such sites, the most notoriousbeing My Space, Facebook and YouTube. These sites are all similar in so much as they are,first, dependant on the end-users to provide the actual content; second, they are largelyunmonitored and unregulated; and third, they are of great appeal to children and youngpeople. There are many reasons for the appeal of social networking services. A recent reporton the topic identifies the key attractions as including the ability to create original andpersonal content that can be quickly published onto a website and the opportunities forchildren and young people to express themselves through these services and to connectand communicate easily with others. 372 The allure that these sites offer to young people areshared by those who wish to harm them, and as such social networking sites may providea contact between child and abuse-intent adults.Private Sector Accountability in Combating the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children|91