Online sexual abuse of minors in Israel rises post-October 7
All of February will be devoted to increasing awareness of the dangers online among children, teens, and parents.
Over 50,000 cases of online sexual offenses, bullying, and intimidation against children and teens have been received by the 105 number that receive complaints at the National Headquarters for the Protection of Children Online at Lahav 433.
The unit has been functioning for four years and is devoting all of February to prevention activities and information. and cooperation with governmental and civil bodies in the field of child protection online. In light of the security situation, the leading message this year is – “Connect safely in routine and emergency – maintain digital resilience children online.”
A third of the incidents were sexual offenses, 17% were bullying and intimidation, and 16% were fear for human life, according to the National Security Ministry that released statistics.
On February 6, Israel joins more than 130 countries that will celebrate International Safer Internet Day. Police officers and ordinary citizens will deliver 1,300 lectures in elementary and intermediate schools to middle school pupils A campaign by the the 105 unit will also be launched on social networks, promoting messages to strengthen the digital resilience of children and youth.
Over 50,500 incidents were opened and handled at Moked 105 from the day it was established on February 6, 2018, until December 31, 2023. Some 8,100 incidents were received and handled in 2023 alone.
Seventy percent of the victims were minors, and 58% were abused by others under the age of 18. Two-thirds of the victims were girls, and most of them were aged 12 to 14. The rest were boys, and most of them were aged 15 to 17. The leading subcategories of sexual abuse were sexual harassment (33%), sexual extortion (30%), and distribution of a sexual video (17%) or image (16%)
The main sites of attack incidents were Instagram (32%) and WhatsApp (21%) Moked 105 handled about 80 different arenas in the network. The majority of those contacting the hotline were the victims themselves and their parents (34% each).
In the month of October 2023, the first month of the Iron Swords War, there was a significant increase in posts published by teenagers and which indicate anxiety and mental distress with a direct connection to the war. An analysis of the data shows that girls publish more posts than boys and share and consult more.
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