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Online Harms: Online Sexual Violence

Online sexual violence is unsolicited and unwanted sexual actions and behaviours directed towards youth online, and it is increasing in frequency and intensity.

Over the past year, Cybertip.ca witnessed a 31% increase in the overall online victimization of children.Go to footnote 1 Offenders are intensifying control tactics, increasing the use of humiliation, and utilizing multiple accounts to target youth.

One of the most concerning trends is that in a lot of cases youth are not telling anyone what is going on. Many fear being victim-blamed, are worried about letting the adults in their life down, or just don’t know who to turn to for help.

This underscores the critical need to teach youth skills that help them navigate online situations safely and the information on where to go for help if someone is harming them online.

Other emerging trends Cybertip.ca has noted are a 62% increase in sextortion incidents and a 55% increase of online luring incidents.

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  1. 1 November 2021 – October 2022 vs. November 2022 – October 2023