In an article today in the Globe and Mail, Kirk Makin reports on some stunning reports from a senior Ontario Crown Attorney that many Judges refuse to view images seized as evidence in cases of sexual abuse of children. And this is leading to lax sentencing.
"There is no substitute for actually viewing the images," Mr. Smith,the head of the Ministry of the Attorney-General's Internet abusesection, told a Canadian Association for Victim Assistance conference."You don't realize how bad this stuff is until you have been exposed toit." - The Globe and Mail
"By and large, the judicial system isn't very good at recognizing thereare victims," Mr. Smith said. "It is often seen as a victimlessoffence." - The Globe and Mail
Source: The Globe and Mail, Oct 26 2006, Kirk Makin
Read the full story.
I hope this forum becomes a great spot for dialogue and the exchange of ideas of ways KINSA and other international organizations can work together to stop the on-line sexual exploitation of children. This is a problem that is growing daily and needs attention from government, the private sector, law enforcement, parents, teachers and kids. We have to work together because there is no one answer to this problem.
KINSA is not about stifling communications on the web - and I hope by using a blog to communicate that, we are demonstrating that commitment in more than just words. At the same time, we have to be realistic about what is happening on the world-wide,wild-west web ...
Look forward to a spirited and interesting dialogue.
California recently held their first Cyber Security Summit. Governor Schwarzenegger hosted the event and Mark Klass (father of Polly Klaas who was abducted and murdered in 1993) provided the keynote address.
Read full article.
Source: Government Technology, October 23 2006 by Gina M. Scott.
Labels: In the News
So far, 37 countries and over 100 not-for-profit organizations and corporations endorse "Safer Internet Day" where issues of Internet safety are discussed in Parliaments, in the media and among concerned citizens.
Canada and the US are surprisingly absent from this list.
Please help make a day where the safety of our children is a recognized priority in our Legisltature, our schools and our homes.
Please sign the petition. It just takes a second.
Labels: Events
The UN recently released their study on Violence against children .
It estimates that 7% of the world’s boys under the age of 18, and 14% of its girls have been raped.
That's 223 Million children.
Here are some additional statistics from Interpol.
In addition, our experience with enforcement in this area provides the following anecdotal figures.
We fully support Kelly Fairchild and her initiative to increase jail time for sexual offenders from as little as 14 or 45 days to a minimum of 18 months. She is taking a petition of over 2,500 signatures to Legislature later this month.
Full article for viewing is available here.
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