Despite increasing reports of child sexual abuse material circulating online in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, few cases have actually been solved in Canada, a new report from Statistics Canada highlights.
The federal agency reported Thursday that between 2014 and 2020, incidents involving child sexual abuse material led to a sharp increase in overall child sexual exploitation and abuse online.
From 2019 to 2020 alone, possession or access to child sexual abuse material increased by 33 percent, while production or distribution of material increased by 35 percent.
Although StatCan uses “child pornography” in its report, a term also used in Canada’s Criminal Code, advocates say pornography requires consent.
But while more incidents are reported to police, 85 percent remain unsolved, meaning police have been unable to identify a suspect.
64 percent of resolved cases resulted in indictments.
For the purposes of the report, StatCan says that incidents of “child pornography” are cases in which the victim has not been identified.
“This means that apart from these incidents without victim information, no suspects have been identified,” says a more detailed version of the report.
“This could be partly because even when an incident is reported to police, often anonymously, it is still difficult to locate or determine the exact whereabouts of the accused. This is especially true if the child pornography was discovered in, or accessed through, a public or community space or Internet Protocol address, and with a defendant who may have relocated.
CYBER CRIME ON THE WAY
While crimes reported by police were down overall through 2020, and lockdown restrictions also resulted in fewer crimes being reported against individuals, incidents of child sexual exploitation and abuse online have increased, according to the report.
Acts that are considered child sexual exploitation and abuse online include child sexual abuse material, sexting material, sextortion, grooming and locking, live streaming of child sexual abuse, and made-to-order content.
According to StatCan, the overall rate in 2020 was 131 incidents per 100,000 children and adolescents, up from the rate of 50 incidents per 100,000 children reported in 2014.
The rate of police-reported online child sexual abuse materials rose 35 percent in 2020 to 101 incidents per 100,000 children and young people.
Between 2014 and 2020, police reported 29,028 incidents of online child sexual abuse material.
The agency says while better police training and more victims willing to make reports could contribute to an increase in reported incidents, research shows only a fraction of sex offenses are actually reported to police, with crimes involving children are involved, even fewer may be reported.
Increased use of smart devices, instant messaging, live streaming, and improved anonymity are also allowing criminals to better conceal their activities and make incident investigation more difficult, says StatCan.
“As a result, the data reported by police likely underestimates the true extent of this form of abuse in Canada,” StatCan says.
More than seven in ten children and young people who are victims of sexual exploitation and abuse are girls aged 12 to 17, and 13 percent are younger than 12 years old.
Boys aged 12 to 17 account for 11 percent of victims, while children under 12 account for three percent of all victims.
Of the 9,766 people accused of online child sexual exploitation and abuse between 2014 and 2020, 91 percent were men and boys.
Read Also :