ECPAT Taiwan highlights issues of online enticement, nude selfies of children and sextortion for SID

On Safer Internet Day 2018, ECPAT Taiwan, in partnership with Facebook, Microsoft Taiwan and the Taiwanese Ministry of Education, held a press conference to raise public awareness on the online safety of children.

Date 2018-03-19 Author Taiwan Safer Internet Day Committee Section awareness, helplines
ECPAT Taiwan also published its 2017 Annual Report of Web547 reporting hotline and helpline at the event. In 2017, over 9,300 reports were made to the hotline and an analysis of these reports indicates an increase in reports related to online enticement of children. Most of these cases targeted male children and exploited their emotional needs and curiosity about physical development. They were enticed to take nude selfies or even join secret chat groups set up to recruit potential victims. The helpline also observed that the incidence of online sextortion was mostly followed by the act of taking and sharing nude selfies. Victims were often afraid to ask parents or other adults for help as they were being "sextorted" and their nude selfies were being distributed. These victims suffered from self-blame, anxiety and depression by keeping the problems to themselves.
 
ECPAT Taiwan therefore appealed to stakeholders, including the government, internet companies, schools and families, for more action to protect children from online sexual exploitation crimes. In addition to tackling the issues and raising awareness, the event was concluded by proposing the creation of a specific Taiwan Safer Internet Day.
 
See the Taiwan Safer Internet Day Committee profile page for further information on SID celebrations in the country.
 
Image copyright of ECPAT Taiwan.

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