Fri, Apr 04, 2025 page2

• Over one-third of sexual image abuse victims are minors: ministry

  • By Hollie Younger / Staff writer, with CNA
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  Over one-third of sexual image abuse victims are minors, according to the latest statistics provided by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW).

  The MOHW’s Sexual Image Abuse Reporting Center last year received a total of 1,928 complaints, with 1,040 victims.

  Thirty-five percent of all reports of sexually explicit images online concerned minors, it said.

  

  A student uses a phone in this undated photograph.

  Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times

  Of the victims, 364 were children and teens, with 342 being aged 13 to 17, and 22 under the age of 12, it added.

  In the new digital age, the “scrolling generation” is rarely seen without a device in their hands, leading to an increased risk of minors falling for extortion scams as “digital victims.”

  The key to enhancing safeguarding measures for minors is education and prevention, as the majority of victims are still in school, Department of Protective Services Director-General Chang Hsiu-yuan (張秀鴛) said today.

  Preventative education is now legally mandated in all schools, and the department would continue to work closely with the Ministry of Education to launch awareness campaigns, she said.

  With phones, computers and tablets now widespread and easily accessible, child-parent interaction has also declined, leaving children increasingly unsupervised and vulnerable to falling for scams on dating apps or gaming platforms, she added.

  Some children may think they are just “playing a game,” when in fact they could be falling for a scam, she said.

  “Once a sexually explicit image has been put online, it’s incredibly difficult to completely remove all trace of it,” she said.

  The authorities can take action such as removing the images from platforms and tracing the perpetrators, however, these can be considered as “treating the symptoms and not the root cause,” she added.

  The most effective way to stop the spread of sexually explicit images of minors is to prevent them from being taken and shared in the first place, she said.

  Not all sexually explicit images are taken by the minors themselves — some are secretly recorded in public places, especially public toilets, cram schools and after-school programs, she said.

  Those in charge of such high-risk locations should conduct routine checks and install anti-surveillance equipment, she added.

  Any recording, forwarding, downloading or viewing of sexually explicit images of minors is illegal, she said.

  The Department of Protective Services would continue to collaborate with relevant agencies to strengthen legal enforcement and education, she added.
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