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The Role of Technology in the Perpetration of Childhood Sexual Abuse: The Importance of Considering Both In-Person and Online Interactions

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a pervasive global problem. To date, prevention efforts have largely focused on legislative efforts, parent and child education, and environmental protections. Due to the proliferation of the Internet, and especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, recent prevention efforts...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Jeglic, Elizabeth L., Winters, Georgia M.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10453250/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37628305
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/children10081306
Descripción
Sumario:Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a pervasive global problem. To date, prevention efforts have largely focused on legislative efforts, parent and child education, and environmental protections. Due to the proliferation of the Internet, and especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, recent prevention efforts have focused on online CSA. However, the extent to which technology is being used in the perpetration of in-person, contact CSA remains unclear. This study examined the role of technology in the perpetration of in-person, contact CSA using a sample of 332 adult CSA survivors who completed an anonymous online survey. Overall, we found that only 8.5% of the sample reported that they met the perpetrator online through social media, chatrooms, and other online applications. When looking at the role of technology in the perpetration of the abuse, 35% reported texting with the perpetrator, 27% reported engaging in online chats, and 33% spoke to the perpetrator on the phone. Few participants reported sending (11%) or receiving (13%) photographs or videos that were sexual in nature. Technology use was reported more frequently in CSA involving adolescents than CSA involving children aged 12 and under. There were no differences in the use of technology based on the age of the person who perpetrated the CSA. These findings will be discussed as they pertain to prevention efforts for CSA.