Sexual abuse through the Internet begins on average at the age of 13, is carried out mainly on girls and the abusers are people with no previous criminal record and, in half of the cases, from their environment.
This is the x-ray that Save the Children extracts about the phenomenon of online grooming in Spain after analyzing nearly 400 judicial sentences in cases of this type of violence issued between 2021 and 2022.
Boys and girls are increasingly accessing the Internet and interacting through the Internet at very early ages: it is estimated that the first access is at 7 years old and that 95% of minors between 10 and 15 years old use it. . In parallel, online sexual crimes that have a child or adolescent as the victim have grown and in 2022, 954 complaints of this type were filed.
Practically 6 out of 10 victims of this online abuse are girls, a proportion that rises to 8 out of 10 in the case of physical sexual abuse, which usually begins earlier, at age 11. And there are 11.5% who are victims with disabilities. The bulk of abuse is focused on boys and girls between 12 and 15 years old.
Regarding the profile of the aggressors, in 23% of the cases it was an acquaintance, in 16.4% a monitor or coach, in 9.8% a teacher or educator, in 3.3% another family member and the remaining 47% were unknown. And 95% of them had no criminal record of any kind.
Another fact revealed by the Save the Children report is that in 54% of cases it is the mother who uncovers or at least informs the authorities of online abuse, although in 31% of cases it is not clear who it was. . In 97% of the cases the sentence was conviction, and the most imposed sentence was more than 5 years in prison.
"These data show that boys and girls are a group that is especially vulnerable to violence through the Internet and in the case of online grooming we must remember that the abuser gradually gains their trust to involve them in a sexual activity that "can range from talking about sex and obtaining photos or videos to having a sexual encounter," explained the organization's director of social and political advocacy, Catalina Perazzo, in the presentation of the report.
After reviewing the judicial processes, Save the Children expresses its concern about their duration, which can last between two and three years. In this sense, remember that the Organic Law on Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents against Violence that was approved two years ago already raises the need to develop specialized justice for children.
Hence, the organization requests that specialized courts be established to care for children who are victims of violence, that a specific Prosecutor's Office for violence against children be created, that all legal operators be trained on this topic and that assistance be offered. legal assistance to victims, accompanying them from the beginning to the end of the process and ensuring its free treatment in cases already provided for by law.
