Profile
Photos
Comments
Study
finds Web threat overstated
"Online 'Predators' and Their Victims:
Myths, Realities and Implications for Prevention,"
Article here
The threat of online predators
trolling the Internet and social Web sites seeking to stalk, kidnap and rape
young children has been greatly overstated, a University of New Hampshire study
says.
KEY REPORT FINDINGS
• Internet offenders pretended to be teenagers in only 5 percent of the crimes
studied by researchers.
• Nearly 75 percent of
victims who met offenders face-to-face did so more than once.
• 99 percent of the victims were ages 13-17,
and none were younger than 12.
• Youth who engaged in four or more risky online behaviors were much more likely
to report receiving online sexual solicitations.
These behaviors include maintaining
buddy lists that included strangers, discussing sex online with people they did
not know in person and being rude or nasty online.
• Boys who are gay or are questioning their sexuality may be more susceptible to
Internet-initiated sex crimes. Boys were the victims in nearly one-quarter of
criminal cases, and virtually all of their offenders were male.
Source: “Online ‘Predators’ and Their Victims: Myths, Realities and Implications
for Prevention.â€
Also see:
Despite high-profile cases, sex-offense crimes decline