Police data showed that 70 percent of last year’s reported child sexual exploitation cases featured online activities, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, urging better parental oversight.
Citing National Police Agency data, Department of Protective Services Director-General Chang Hsiu-yuan (張秀鴛) told a news conference that 50 percent of the alleged perpetrators were underage.
Posting sexual images of the victim without consent accounted for 90 percent of child sexual exploitation incidents believed to be perpetrated by children, Chang said.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
About 50 percent of children who use social media do not know that an account’s privacy settings can be changed, she said, citing a study by Taiwan Fund for Children and Families.
These figures underscore the importance of parents monitoring children’s engagement with social media, Chang said.
Taiwanese children’s engagement with the Internet rose from 3.17 hours per day to 3.96 hours per day over the past four years, while the average age of first exposure to the Internet dropped from 8.7 years to 7.1 years, she said.
SEXUAL EXPLOITATION
In addition to posing a potential risk to child safety, arguments over the use of electronic devices were the precipitating incident for 16 percent of incidents in which a child suffered corporal punishment, Chang said.
Citing research by Childlight last year, ECPAT Taiwan member Chen Shih-ying (陳時英) said one in eight children in the world have experienced Internet-enabled sexual exploitation, including human trafficking, privacy violations and harassment.
Red flags for online predators include adding or following children with whom they have no relationship in real life, broaching inappropriate subjects in conversations, and demanding personal information, photographs or videos, Chen said.
Asia University vice president Ko Hui-chen (柯慧貞) said studies in Taiwan and the US have shown that device usage is linked to increased risks of depression and suicide in young people.
The studies also suggest that decreasing social media consumption is correlated with better mental health, Ko said.
Teachers and parents should work together to moderate children’s exposure to the Internet, promote media literacy and provide children with more emotional support, she said.
LEAD BY EXAMPLE
Parent-child relations therapist Wang Ching (王晴) said the best way to teach children to use the Internet responsibly is by example.
Although parents should not ban the use of devices outright, they must be firm in imposing limits and never replace babysitting with tablets or phones, she said.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators