Article Review

I was recently given an article, which was very interesting. It is titled Use of Social Networking Sites in Online Sex Crimes Against Minors: An Examination of National Incidence and Means of Utilization by Kimberly Mitchell, David Kindlehor, Lisa Jones, and Janis Wolak, Journal of Adolescent Health 47 (2010), pages 183-190.

This article studied law enforcements incidents with crimes against children, regarding social networking sites. The purpose of this study, the authors felt, was to display the truth of crimes against children statistics, because the media has led people to have misconceptions about these crimes. The authors state that sex crimes against children have actually decreased, since the mid-1990s. However, in my  opinion, I believe that any "decline" is due to the fact that this crime is typically unreported...leading the true statistics incredibly under-representative of the true nature. I believe the under-reporting rate is due to a number of reasons:
1. There is stigma attached to being a victim of this type of crime
2. Predators have gotten smarter and are great manipulators. Once they have gotten what they want, whether it be a photograph or a sexual encounter with a child, they are very skilled at manipulating the child into thinking that this action is normal, and should happen again. As well, the predators are great at blackmailing, and scaring the kids into continually doing the act. They may say...I will tell people what you did, if you don't do it again. The kid, being afraid of their friends and family finding out, will continue to do the act in silence.
3. Some kids like the attention they receive from these older men. They may think that this guy giving them all this attention online, isn't a "bad guy", rather a good guy that makes them feel good about themselves. They may not see a problem with the act, therefore, will never report it or tell their parents.
4. The kid believes the guy is a good guy, and doesn't want them to get into trouble. The pedophiles are skilled at manipulating children into believing that they have good intentions and that people just "don't understand them".

This article provided some good statistical findings. They interviewed law enforcement agencies. The first round was via questionnaire and the second via phone. The statistics which stuck out to me are:
1. The predator used SNSs to initiate a relationship with the child. They may not utilize the SNS to disseminate pornography, or to set up a meeting instantly, but they used these sites to start a TRUSTING relationship. These guys often use the sites to seem "cool" to the kid. Hey we have this in common or that in common. It is a way to show who "they are" and seem normal to the kids. It is also a way to get to know who the kids are. Kids often share their entire life on these sites, sometimes even their phone number or address. This is a starting point for these predators. They may move to chatrooms, texting, or phone calls. This was done in 50% of victim involved cases.
2. 72% of the cases, the predator used SNSs to send messages to the victim. I believe this is part of the grooming process, same as number 1. However, messages, and SNS "chats" helps to further build a relationship with the child. Builds "trust".
3. In 69% of the cases, predators utilized the sites to get information on the victim. I believe the true statistic to be much higher. However, I believe a lot of predators wouldn't be honest about it. When anyone looks at someones SNS profile, they look at the likes, interests, school, whereabouts, relationship status, photographs, etc. A predator would use this to gain trust in the victim. They (predators) are good at using this for their advantage. They may talk to the kid and say "Oh I love Plain White T's, what about you". They may only be saying that because the kid is a fan of the band, or has them listed in their interests. The kid, not realizing that this is posted on their site, may think, oh wow, we have a lot in common. They don't realize that the predator is doing this to manipulate, gain trust, and groom the child.

Children need to learn the behaviors of these individuals. They need to know what these guys are REALLY doing and motivations they have. If a 30 year old man is "facebooking" a 14/15 year old, they need to not be flattered, and realize that this is NOT normal and NOT ok. They need to not trust these guys and learn to keep their guard up. I truly believe that any decline in statistics is due to a decline in reporting as well. These predators are getting smarter and smarter. They are learning how to manipulate better and hide their actions, so that they go unnoticed by law enforcement.