Child sexual abuse in Canada

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The article covers child sexual abuse in Canada, a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses engages in sexual act(s) with a child. [1] [2]

Contents

Previous statistics have shown that about a third of girls and one sixth of boys are victims of sexual assault in Canada. [3] In 2016, results from a national representative survey indicated that the sexual abuse of children has been declining in Canada since the early 1990s. [4]

In Canada, child sexual offences also include the access and use of child pornography, since the use of these materials indirectly harms a child. Child pornographic offences are considered child sexual abuse, since its production involves direct sexual abuse of a child. The criminal justice system has been transitioning the term of child pornography to "child sexual abuse materials" and/or "child sexual exploitation materials" as these terms essentially underline the fact that children are being sexually abused. By contrast, "child pornography" has an underlying tone that these materials are erotic and are intentionally used for sexual arousal purposes.

Prevention

In prompt response to this issue, several prevention initiatives have taken place:

Penalties for child sexual abuse

The Criminal Code indicates that the following charges are considered hands-on sexual offences: Sexual interference on persons under age 16, sexual assault on persons under age 16, and invitation to sexual touching. Child pornography-related offences under the Criminal Code include: Making child pornography, Make available/distribute child pornography, Access child pornography, and Possession of child pornography. In addition, offenders might be placed on the Section 161 order, which restricts interactions with minors (age 16 and below). Offenders might also be placed on the Sexual Offender Registry for either 5 years, 10 years, or a lifetime.

Those who have been convicted of these offences might have the option of serving weekend sentences while getting treatment for their problematic sexual interests and/or behaviors. Currently, Canada does not have any public/community notification laws.[ dubious discuss ] Many studies have shown that there is no empirical support that public notification laws are effective at preventing sexual re-offences. [5] In fact, research has shown that public notification laws might present more problems than help. [6] There have been emerging studies that show treatment efforts may be more effective at reducing sexual re-offences.

See also

Related Research Articles

Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence that includes child sexual abuse, groping, rape, drug facilitated sexual assault, and the torture of the person in a sexual manner.

Child sex tourism (CST) is tourism for the purpose of engaging in the prostitution of children, which is commercially facilitated child sexual abuse. The definition of child in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is "every human being below the age of 18 years". Child sex tourism results in both mental and physical consequences for the exploited children, which may include sexually transmitted infections, "drug addiction, pregnancy, malnutrition, social ostracism, and death", according to the State Department of the United States. Child sex tourism, part of the multibillion-dollar global sex tourism industry, is a form of child prostitution within the wider issue of commercial sexual exploitation of children. Child sex tourism victimizes approximately 2 million children around the world. The children who perform as prostitutes in the child sex tourism trade often have been lured or abducted into sexual slavery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juvenile delinquency</span> Illegal behavior by minors

Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor or individual younger than the statutory age of majority. These acts would be considered crimes if the individuals committing them were older. The term delinquent usually refers to juvenile delinquency, and is also generalised to refer to a young person who behaves an unacceptable way.

Sexual grooming is the action or behavior used to establish an emotional connection with a vulnerable person – generally a minor under the age of consent – and sometimes the victim's family, to lower their inhibitions with the objective of sexual abuse. It can occur in various settings, including online, in person, and through other means of communication. Children who are groomed may experience mental health issues, including "anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and suicidal thoughts."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commercial sexual exploitation of children</span>

Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) defines the "umbrella" of crimes and activities that involve inflicting sexual abuse on to a child as a financial or personal opportunity. Commercial Sexual Exploitation consists of forcing a child into prostitution, sex trafficking, early marriage, child sex tourism and any other venture of exploiting children into sexual activities. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the lack of reporting the crime and "the difficulties associated with identifying and measuring victims and perpetrators" has made it almost impossible to create a national estimate of the prevalence of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in the United States. There is an estimated one million children that are exploited for commercial sex globally; of the one million children that are exploited, the majority are girls.

A sex offender is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crimes of a sexual nature; however, some sex offenders have simply violated a law contained in a sexual category. Some of the serious crimes which result in a mandatory sex-offender classification are sexual assault, statutory rape, bestiality, child sexual abuse, incest, and rape.

Pedophilia is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty at age 10 or 11, and boys at age 11 or 12, psychiatric diagnostic criteria for pedophilia extend the cut-off point for prepubescence to age 13. People with the disorder are often referred to as pedophiles.

Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. Sexual abuse is a term used for a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser. Live streaming sexual abuse involves trafficking and coerced sexual acts, or rape, in real time on webcam.

Laws against child sexual abuse vary by country based on the local definition of who a child is and what constitutes child sexual abuse. Most countries in the world employ some form of age of consent, with sexual contact with an underage person being criminally penalized. As the age of consent to sexual behaviour varies from country to country, so too do definitions of child sexual abuse. An adult's sexual intercourse with a minor below the legal age of consent may sometimes be referred to as statutory rape, based on the principle that any apparent consent by a minor could not be considered legal consent.

Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child, indecent exposure, child grooming, and child sexual exploitation, such as using a child to produce child pornography.

In common law jurisdictions, statutory rape is nonforcible sexual activity in which one of the individuals is below the age of consent. Although it usually refers to adults engaging in sexual contact with minors under the age of consent, it is a generic term, and very few jurisdictions use the actual term statutory rape in the language of statutes. In statutory rape, overt force or threat is usually not present. Statutory rape laws presume coercion because a minor or mentally disabled adult is legally incapable of giving consent to the act.

A sex offender registry is a system in various countries designed to allow government authorities to keep track of the activities of sex offenders, including those who have completed their criminal sentences.

An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin obscēnus, obscaenus, "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Generally, the term can be used to indicate strong moral repugnance and outrage in expressions such as "obscene profits" and "the obscenity of war". As a legal term, it usually refers to descriptions and depictions of people engaged in sexual and excretory activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child pornography laws in the United States</span>

In the United States, child pornography is illegal under federal law and in all states and is punishable by up to life imprisonment and fines of up to $250,000. U.S. laws regarding child pornography are virtually always enforced and amongst the sternest in the world. The Supreme Court of the United States has found child pornography to be outside the protections of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Federal sentencing guidelines on child pornography differentiate between production, distribution, and purchasing/receiving, and also include variations in severity based on the age of the child involved in the materials, with significant increases in penalties when the offense involves a prepubescent child or a child under the age of 18. U.S. law distinguishes between pornographic images of an actual minor, realistic images that are not of an actual minor, and non-realistic images such as drawings. The latter two categories are legally protected unless found to be obscene, whereas the first does not require a finding of obscenity.

Simulated child pornography is child pornography depicting what appear to be minors but which is produced without their direct involvement.

A range of research has been conducted examining the link between viewing child pornography and perpetration of child sexual abuse, and much disagreement persists regarding whether a causal connection has been established. Perspectives fall into one of three positions:

Human trafficking in Canada is prohibited by law, and is considered a criminal offence whether it occurs entirely within Canada or involves the "transporting of persons across Canadian borders. Public Safety Canada (PSC) defines human trafficking as "the recruitment, transportation, harbouring and/or exercising control, direction or influence over the movements of a person in order to exploit that person, typically through sexual exploitation or forced labour. It is often described as a modern form of slavery."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual offences in the United Kingdom</span>

There are a number of sexual offences under the law of England and Wales, the law of Scotland, and the law of Northern Ireland.

Child pornography is erotic material that depicts persons under the designated age of majority. The precise characteristics of what constitutes child pornography varies by criminal jurisdiction.

Canadian Centre for Child Protection is a Canadian registered charitable organization dedicated to the personal safety of all children. More specifically, its goal is to reduce the victimization of children by providing programs and services to the Canadian public.

References

  1. "Child Sexual Abuse". Medline Plus. U.S. National Library of Medicine. 2008-04-02.
  2. "Guidelines for psychological evaluations in child protection matters. Committee on Professional Practice and Standards, APA Board of Professional Affairs". The American Psychologist. 54 (8): 586–593. August 1999. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.54.8.586. PMID   10453704. Abuse, sexual (child): generally defined as contacts between a child and an adult or other person significantly older or in a position of power or control over the child, where the child is being used for sexual stimulation of the adult or other person.
  3. "Statistics & Research | Little Warriors". littlewarriors.ca. May 2019. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  4. Canada, Public Health Agency of (2016-11-04). "Is child sexual abuse declining in Canada? Results from nationally representative retrospective surveys - HPCDP: Volume 36-11, November 2016". aem. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  5. Sandler, Jeffrey C.; Freeman, Naomi J.; Socia, Kelly M. (2008). "Does a watched pot boil? A time-series analysis of New York State's sex offender registration and notification law". Psychology, Public Policy, and Law. 14 (4): 284–302. doi:10.1037/a0013881 . Retrieved 2019-07-08.
  6. Lussier, Patrick; Mathesius, Jeff (2019-01-21). "Not in My Backyard: Public Sex Offender Registries and Public Notification Laws". Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice. 61: 105–116. doi:10.3138/cjccj.2018-0026. S2CID   150453985.