The Dutch non-governmental organization Terre des Hommes (TDHIF) wanted to demonstrate the extent of sexual abuse of minors through the Internet and for this they have created a fictional character, a 10-year-old girl (called Sweetie) who despite being virtual seems to have reached to attract 20,000 adults willing to abuse her, of which 1,000 have been located.
The increase in Internet use rates and persistent poverty in the developing world have led to the emergence of a growing new form of child sexual exploitation online. The "Sexual Child Tourism by Webcam" (WCST) takes place when adults pay or offer other benefits in order to watch live videos of children in another country performing sexual acts in front of a webcam.
Those responsible for TDHIF know that in the case of a real "bait", Interpol cannot act against possible pedophiles. But the objective has been achieved: they believe they have shown that finding the abusers of minors who locate their victims through the Internet is possible, and also that these abuses that cross borders acquire a scandalous magnitude. While adults of 71 nationalities (including seven Spaniards) contacted and interacted with Sweetie, believing they were facing a possible victim, the Terre des Hommes investigators they gathered information about them through different means on the Internet, in order to discover their identity.
Now, they intend to pressure all governments to adopt proactive measures in investigation policies for these types of crimes.
You just have to change the way you investigate and the authorities are willing to do so. Adults pay for these services and also store information, or photos, that they share with others.
Sexual cyber tourism is prohibited by numerous national and international laws, but despite this, only six criminals have been convicted. The biggest problem is that no action is taken until the children do not report or communicate the information. Something that is understood when they are in a situation of extreme poverty, or have been forced by adults from their own environment (for example, sometimes it would mean testifying against members of their own family).
Internet pedophiles
According to UN data, it is estimated that there are about 750,000 active pedophiles in the network in search of innocent victims. Terre des Hommes has lifted the lid of this practice that is increasing every day in parallel to other types of sexual abuse such as pornography or physical violations, and that shows the devastating psychological trauma that causes minors, so that from the Land of Men Foundation, the authorities are called to take strict and efficient measures of child protection and repress and punish the "predators of the webcam ”.
Internet access in developing countries also makes it easier to exploit children in this way.
This modality of sex tourism allows predators sexually abuse children from other countries with the ease and frequency of using their personal computers connected to the Internet. And despite the fact that the practice is prohibited by international laws and the most national criminal codes, the application of those laws has so far been lax.
Terre des Hommes works to end child exploitation and to help victims around the world. "In recent years, we have been overwhelmed by the increasing number of child victims of WCST in the Philippines. The psychological damage that this sexual exploitation has on children is deep and permanent”.
Permanent damage
Children in developing countries they can be victims of adult men seeking sex onlineThey are usually foreigners who find these children through social networking sites and chat rooms. Non-traceable credit cards and aliases for online communications are used to pay for the services.
Affected children suffer from low self-esteem and feelings of low self worth. On the other hand, they show symptoms of post-traumatic stress. They often feel ashamed and guilty about the things they do and exhibit self-destructive behaviors, such as the use of alcohol or drugs to relax and escape their problems.
Since assistance to victims alone cannot stop the expansion of this form of child exploitation, through the study carried out We want to force the search for solutions to reduce the global demand for sex tourism With children via webcam.
