Debunking Internet Predator Statistics

If your child is online--if your child uses social networking software such as MySpace--is he or she at great risk from being solicited for sex?  The DOPA forces want you to think so.  But what's the real picture?  Thankfully, Benjamin Radford has analyzed the statistics.  No, your child isn't going to be approached by a stranger and subjected to unwanted attention.

Technorati Tags: DOPA, Congress, Web 2.0, Social software, technology ban

The "Suburban Caucus" Republicans aren't above beating the panic drum:

In an interview with eSchool News, Fitzpatrick's chief of staff, Michael Conallen, said the congressman does not seek to vilify MySpace or other social networking sites, but is simply interested in protecting children from "very bad individuals who would use [these sites] to contact young children and potentially do them harm."

"A recent Department of Justice study indicated that one in five children who use the internet receive[s] an unwanted sexual solicitation," Conallen said. "MySpace has become a phenomenally popular web site, virtually overnight. There are documented reports throughout the country of child predators contacting children through MySpace. This is a new and evolving problem that needed to be addressed. When CIPA [the Children's Internet Protection Act] was put in place, it didn't exist."

I wish that  Robert Brumfield, Assistant Editor of the eSchool News, who wrote the article quoted above, had been tougher in confronting the exaggeration.  He could have used the point of view expressed by Benjamin Radford

According to a May 3, 2006, "ABC News" report, "One in five children is now approached by online predators." This alarming statistic is commonly cited in news stories about prevalence of Internet predators.

The claim can be traced back to a 2001 Department of Justice study issued by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children ("The Youth Internet Safety Survey") that asked 1,501 American teens between 10 and 17 about their online experiences. Among the study's conclusions: "Almost one in five (19 percent)…received an unwanted sexual solicitation in the past year." (A "sexual solicitation" is defined as a "request to engage in sexual activities or sexual talk or give personal sexual information that were unwanted or, whether wanted or not, made by an adult."

Using this definition, one teen asking another teen if her or she is a virgin—or got lucky with a recent date—could be considered "sexual solicitation.") Not a single one of the reported solicitations led to any actual sexual contact or assault. Furthermore, almost half of the "sexual solicitations" came not from "predators" or adults but from other teens.

When the study examined the type of Internet "solicitation" parents are most concerned about (e.g., someone who asked to meet the teen somewhere, called the teen on the telephone, or sent gifts), the number drops from "one in five" to 3 percent. This is a far cry from a "national epidemic" of children being "approached by online predators."

As the study noted, "The problem highlighted in this survey is not just adult males trolling for sex. Much of the offending behavior comes from other youth [and] from females." Furthermore, most kids just ignored (and were not upset by) the solicitation: "Most youth are not bothered much by what they encounter on the Internet…Most young people seem to know what to do to deflect these sexual ‘come ons.'" The reality is far less grave than the ubiquitous "one in five" statistic suggests.

Comments

[Jeff Wise]

I happened to come across this blog on one of my many research endeavors. While you may be trying to debunk the online child predator statistics there are some things that you are missing. Yes statistics are heavily depended upon the data pool from which you can obtain information. Yet I am afraid that blogs like this as well as other websites that carry misinformation tend to hurt the endeavor to protect our children. This is one of the many reasons why I have decided to begin listing my research online. I will not hog up your blog with my data here so you can follow my links to find my supporting information. You can find my home page at http://www.childpredatorbook.com/ and my child predator
research page here. Please consider this information.

I have much more research to place online. In fact I may never finish getting all of it up and online there is so much. That portion of my site is a new addition and will be a continuous work in progress.

[Long Beach Defense Attorney]

What we need to remember is that those accused of these crimes are entitled to due process and the presumption of innocence, this is what our Constitution requires.

[Long Beach Defense Attorney]

One must also consider the fact that many persons arrested in the wide law enforcement net are often victims of overzealous law enforcement
www.lawyerinlongbeach.com
for additional resources

[Juvenile Advocate]

As a juvenile attorney, I can say I have personally observed incidents of serious predation, there are myths however the bulk of the Juvenile Criminal Cases I have been involved in are legitimate.

[Jessica Johnson]

The entire system is flawed, the great debate over who to protect; our children or the presumed innocent sexual predator. Yes, the there are overzealous law enforcement, and sometimes people get convicted when they are innocent. That just doesn't happen with sexual predators though, it happens all the time, my personal openion is that the courts convict whomever is easiest - the reason why there has only been one convicted murder in my town (and yes, plenty of unsolved deaths).

Adults, not just children, need to adhear to a code of conduct. The issue that does not seem to come up is that most teens WANT what these sexual predators have to offer - is CAN be consenual. But that does not make it right, that is why we have laws telling us at what age we are allowed to start having sex, and with what age group. Why are these laws in place? Because minors are too imature to realize what is really going on, it's for their emotional and mental safty.

When an adult brakes the code of conduct they KNOW it's against the law, but they do not care - just as the imature teen does not care. It is a total disregard of the legal system, an ADULT is supposed to be mature enough to be past the rebelion stage and see the difference between themselves and a child.

The court may get a person on a technacality, but when said adult passed that line - 10/1 says they knew it.

Sexual predators ARE everywhere, I honestly cannot count the number of predators I know personally, and have come accross online. If people are freaking out over protecting our children, there is a reason for it, and adults need to be taking the insentive to protect them.

[Cotton]

Strange how the article mentions MEN by sex, then ambiguously mentions adults.

There are plenty of female predators out there. Just look at the School statistics regarding adult teachers & underage children. Strange that female offenders don't get labeled as such or have to register as sex offenders.

Teachers in their 30's having sex with 12-14 year old boys- having babies, and it seems no one is complaining about that...

[Santa Rosa DUI Attorney]

Is this a new phenom? I wonder if this type of behavior was going on for years before I was born? Is the internet just allow people to interact?