Report Abuse


Once you have determined that something inappropriate has happened, you need to take action. Immediately stop any avenue of contact your child has with the predator, and take steps to report the problem to the appropriate authorities.

Why People Don't Report Abuse

There are many reasons why people of any age don't report abuse. The abuse might have been too traumatic for them to deal with; they might distrust the authorities; they might be afraid of reprisals to themselves or other family members. It might be a family member who was the abuser. Parents might feel that they and their child have already been through enough and are not strong enough to face a long, drawn-out legal battle, or they simply want to keep their family out of the headlines or courts.

For whatever reason, people often opt to simply try to block the predator from any contact and potential for harm and leave it at that. Only the individual or family can weigh the factors and make this call, and should you find yourself in this situation, you might well want to consider getting counseling or advice about your choices. This should be available as a free service through crisis centers, a school counselor, or your pediatrician.

Find Out More

You can also contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) at www.missingkids.com for advice, information, and to report abuse.


Why You Should Report Abuses

Only you and your child can decide the right course of action. But when abuse is not reported, you leave the predator loose on the Internet and streets where they are likely to do the same things to countless other families, whether their abuse is harassment, fraud, or sexual in nature.

Think About It

Data from the NCMEC (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children) indicates that in the United States 25 percent of girls and 20 percent of boys are sexually exploited before they are 18. This means that sexual abuse is a preventable disease that strikes 22 percent of our children. It cripples their bodies, their minds, and their souls. This scourge is not an Internet phenomenon, but the Internet is a powerful tool used by predators to find and abuse new victims.


Reporting Abuse You Observe

You might also witness abuse of others online. For example, you might observe harassing behavior in a chat room or in an instant messaging exchange with your friends. This is a tricky situation because it's not your family that's involved, and you aren't familiar with nor do you control the values of the family of the person who is involved in the harassment.

If you know the person involved, say, it's a friend of your child, talking with that child or phoning the parents might be appropriate. If you or your child witness harassment of somebody you don't know, you could consider reporting this to the online provider. Chances are, if an individual is acting inappropriately, others have reported the problem, and your report will help your provider and/or law enforcement to discipline or prosecute the person.

Also, you can report inappropriate or illegal images, hate speech, or other violations of your rights, the rights of others, or the site's privacy codes to the hosting site.


Where to Report Abuse

If you or someone in your family has been the victim of online abuse, either through a financial scam, fraud, or harassment of some type, what do you do? Once you've made the decision to report the abuse, how do you go about it? There are several options, depending on the situation. In the United States you can

  • Report the incident to your Internet or wireless phone service provider. Get more information on the specific Web service's site; for example, on MSN's Online Safety & Security page at http://safety.msn.com.

  • Take any consumer complaint about fraud to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or get advice on how to recognize or avoid rip-offs at www.ftc.gov/ftc/consumer.htm.

  • File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau if you are the victim of an online scam. Go to www.bbb.org for more information.

  • Report Internet fraud to the FBI through the Internet Fraud Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.

  • Report abuse of a child to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) at www.missingkids.com/cybertip/.

    In countries other than the United States, check online or with your local police force to find out how best to get the help and support you need.

  • Whenever you feel a crime has been committed, contact your local police. They can investigate or put you in touch with other agencies as appropriate. If the cybercriminal is from another country, you should still contact your police department, which can contact additional law enforcement agencies as necessary.

Think About It

If you know about a child who is in immediate risk or danger, call local law enforcement. If you have any information about a missing child, call 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).


Find Support After Your Report

Don't forget to take care of yourself and your family after reporting abuse. After the anxiety of worrying about your loved one, as well as the stress of finding your way through the reporting process, you might all need support.

You need to know you are not alone. You can contact local crisis centers for 24-hour telephone assistance. Or visit the Web sites of the following organizations to get information and support for victims of online abuse, as well as additional reporting resources:

  • The world's largest online safety and help group is WiredSafety (www.wiredsafety.org). They have information about reporting abuse through their Cyber911 Tiplines and live online help.

  • The International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (www.icmec.org) and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (www.missingkids.com) provide information on resources that can help if a child is being sexually exploited.

  • SafeKids.com (www.safekids.com) offers an online safety quiz and kids' rules for online safety that might help you in educating your family.

  • At BlogSafety.com (www.blogsafety.com) you can visit the CyberTipline to report abuse that takes place on your blog.

Additional sites worth visiting are

  • www.safeteens.com

  • www.staysafe.org has sections for kids, teens, parents, and teachers

  • www.getnetwise.org

  • http://kids.getnetwise.org/safetyguide

  • http://safety.msn.com/

  • www.microsoft.com/athome/security/default.mspx

  • www.microsoft.com/mscorp/safety/default.mspx

Find Out More

Be sure to check out "Helpful Web Resources for Internet Safety" in Part Four of this book for more helpful Web sites related to safety online.




Look Both Ways. Help Protect Your Family on the Internet
Look Both Ways: Help Protect Your Family on the Internet
ISBN: 0735623473
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 157
Authors: Linda Criddle

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