Grant: Project Grant - PA: Population and Public Health - Early Career Investigator

Sexual exploitation and abuse is when one person manipulates or forces another person into engaging in sexual activity. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in children spending more time online. While there are many advantages of children using the internet (developing digital literacy and building support networks), spending more time online made them more vulnerable to various types of online sexual exploitation and abuse. This can happen when kids are communicating with a stranger or someone they know and are being coerced or threatened into posting explicit images or videos online or engaging in sexual activity in front of a camera. Parents and other caregivers can help to increase children's safety and reduce risks; however, most parents do not have the right information or underestimate the prevalence of online child sexual abuse. The main outcome of this parent-partnered project is to identify what information parents need and prioritize strategies that respond to their needs. Using a community-based participatory research approach, we will (1) better understand parents' experiences and what information they need to reduce the risk of online child sexual exploitation and abuse; (2) use this information to create educational tools and resources for parents about types, risk factors, impacts, and prevention of online child sexual exploitation and abuse, and how to use technology and social media safely; (3) test the tools and resources and make any required changes; and (4) share them with interested groups in Canada. This research will enhance parents' knowledge and skills on issues that affect their children's lives, improve how well they communicate with their children and keep them safe, and will be used to create successful research-based digital tools so children feel empowered to openly communicate with their parents and caregivers and make decisions about their use of technology, including when they are unsupervised.