- Ability
- Age
- Gender
- Location
- Religion
- Sexual orientation
- Race
- Family income
Other Facts About Sexual Exploitation
It’s not only girls who are at risk. Almost one third of sexually exploited youth are male or transgender.
Up to half of sexually exploited youth identify as Indigenous. (30 – 50%)
99% of teens have access to the internet outside of school. [3]
Nearly 25% of parents report seeing inappropriate behaviour aimed at their child through an online medium. Yet almost 50% of parents report having never spoken to their child about sextortion. [3]
Image Sharing
Sexual exploitation also includes taking, sending, and keeping nude or sexualized images of children and youth. These types of images and videos are Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). This often happens between youth, such as in peer-to-peer sexting. It can also happen through sexual solicitations from online exploiters.
Exploitation During the Pandemic
In 2021, Statistics Canada crime data showed:
- An 89% increase* in reports of making and distribution of CSAM
- A 48% increase* in reports of possession or accessing of CSAM
- A 37% increase* in incidents of children being lured into sexual acts over a computer
- An 80% increase* in reports of non-consensual distribution of sensitive images of children and youth.
*compared to the previous 5-year average. [4]
The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly increased the average amount of time that youth are spending online.
Between April and September 2021, Cybertip.ca reported a 62% increase in online youth sextortion. Boys ages 15-17 made up the largest proportion of targeted youth.[5]