As I've mentioned in previous blogs, the goal of the Mothers Online Movement is to rally the support of 2 million moms (mothers of moms, sisters of moms, brothers of moms or friends of moms). You might ask why 2 million moms? The inspiration behind 2 million moms is that we know there are over 1 million child exploitation images online - each one of the pictures is the picture of a child being sexually abused, a child who has no voice. We want to rally the support of 2 moms for each one of these 1 million children.
So what's one of the things you can do as a voice for these children? Well - if you're in Canada you’ll find a letter here. Please send this letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Imagine if 2 million of us sent letters ... wouldn't that be powerful, wouldn't that make a difference?
(Please note that if you are from the UK, U.S. or other country, the issue addressed in this letter is the same - we need more law enforcement help rescue these children. Please feel free to make use of this letter and send it to your highest level government official.)
As MOMs, we are powerful, we are resourceful - be a voice!
Paula KnightMothers Online Movement (MOM) Founder andKINSA Advisory Boardwww.mothersonlinemovement.ca
Labels: Mothers Online Movement
KINSA advisory board member Paula Knight is scheduled to appear on Canada AM on Wednesday, October 22nd to talk about the Mothers Online Movement campaign.
Tune in at around 8 am local time to learn more. Check your local listings or www.ctv.ca/canadaam for more information.
Learn more about the Mothers Online Movement at www.mothersonlinemovement.ca.
Labels: Events, Mothers Online Movement
I've been asked many times since the Mothers Online Movement launched on October 6th why I became involved in this issue. There are a million reasons, and I'll do my best to share with you many of them, but let me begin by telling you a story about a man who sent an e-mail message to Bill Gates. It's a true story, a story that made me believe that anything is possible if you have conviction and courage. The man's name is Paul Gillespie, aka former Detective Sergeant Paul Gillespie, who for 5 1/2 years was head of the Child Exploitation Unit with the Toronto Police Service.
On one particularly bad day, his team had seized several computers in Toronto that had on the hard drives over 100,000 images and videos of the worst sexual abuse of children, or as Paul put it to me, "one of the most soul destroying days of my life". In what he thought at the time was a pure act of madness, he typed out an e-mail message to Bill Gates of Microsoft, asking for help. The rest of the story is somewhat folkloric (in Canada anyway) ... that message resulted in the development of the Child Exploitation Tracking System (CETS) built by a bunch of dedicated cops from Toronto and other parts of Canada and an unlikely group of really smart geeks from Microsoft Canada. CETS is now in 8 countries around the world and has aided in the rescue of 138 children and the apprehension of 42 predators. Today, Paul Gillespie is President of the Kids' Internet Safety Alliance (KINSA) and a champion of the Mothers Online Movement.
So you see, one person's conviction and courage to do something, even if it seems mad at the time can have incredible impact. This is one of the million reasons that I decided to start the Mothers Online Movement and in two short weeks, almost 1,000 others have shown their support for this act of madness (the good kind of madness) ... I thank you for your courage and conviction!
In a previous blog entry, I mentioned some of the facts and figures associated with online child exploitation:
But here are some more:
Help us keep up the momentum!
Paula KnightKINSA Advisory Board
Since the KINSA Mothers Online Movement launched on Monday, October 6th, we have seen incredible momentum in our effort to rally the support of 2 million moms and raise $2 million dollars.
The MOM video on YouTube, the MOM Web site (www.mothersonlinemovement.ca) and the cause page on Facebook tell the story of why we believe it’s important to rally support for this issue. I also wanted to let you know where funds raised will go, as it is a very important piece of the story and why we need your support.
Today, we know that children and youth who are victims of internet sex crimes are currently under-identified and under-served in our communities. We also know that at present there are no medical or mental health services that are uniquely tailored to the needs of these children, youth and their families.
The needs of children and youth sexually exploited on the internet are unique. Producing a standardized assessment and treatment program for children and youth sexually exploited online will greatly improve the standard of care and recovery for individual victims and their families.
A few months ago, I had the privilege of meeting the team at The Suspected Child Abuse & Neglect (SCAN) Program at SickKids Hospital in Toronto, a multidisciplinary team that offers care, support, assessment and treatment to children and youth who have experienced physical, sexual, and emotional abuse or neglect, as well as their families. In fact, the SCAN program provides more than 1,500 consultations to various child protection agencies, law enforcement and other clinicians each year. (You can learn more about the program at www.sickkids.ca/scan.)
Through the Mothers Online Movement campaign we want to support SCAN’s research in developing a comprehensive, evidence-based medical and psychological assessment and treatment model for children and youth so that together we can improve the standard of care for these victims and their families.
Donations can be made securely online via:
Thank you for your support.
We received over 1,500 responses from kids (aged 8 to 14)about their Internet habits, and we’re thrilled to report that they getan A+ when it comes to being smart online! Read below for the resultsand to see what a fine example they set for their peers …
89% of kids said they spend between one and three hours on the Internet per day. WOW!
Doing homework, playing games, and checking out sites like MySpace and YouTube are the top three reasons kids are hanging out online.
Only 2%of kids said they’ve ever given away private information (like theirfull name and address) to someone they’ve just met via the Internet.Remember – you should NEVER disclose your personal information toanyone you don’t know and trust personally.
81% of kidssaid they’ve never started up a new friendship with someone they’vejust met online. Good thinking – playing it safe is the way to go!
What would you do if someone you’ve just met online asked you to meet them in person? 80% said ‘tell an adult’ and 16% said ‘just ignore it.’That’s right, you should never make arrangements to meet someone inperson you’ve only met online. You never know who you can trust when itcomes to the World Wide Web!
Learn more about Surf Smart on the KINSA Web site.
Labels: Announcements
It doesn't matter how often I see the statistics on online child exploitation,I do a double take every time. The stats are staggering. As we prepared to launch the Mother's Online Movement (MOM) this week, I read a lot of statistics, twice, sometimes three times or more, because I continue to be outraged, shocked, sickened and in disbelief at how staggering the numbers are. Take for example a recent study by the Internet Sex Crimes Against Children task force that reveals more than 44,970 computers nationwide are actively engaged in trading child pornography. This was covered extensively, including in the Toronto Star (http://www.thestar.com/article/302721) earlier this year.
Double take - YES, more than 44,970 computers nationwide are engaged in trading child pornography. Behind each one of these images of child pornography is a child, a child being abused - a child that has no voice.
So here's a new stat. In 8 hours yesterday there were over 200 views of the Mothers Online Movement video on YouTube - 200 individuals who are now more informed on the issue of online child exploitation and ready to be a voice for the children and youth who are victims of the 44,970 who are actively engaged in trading child pornography.
As MOMs, we can make a difference, we are resourceful, we are powerful. Visit www.mothersonlinemovement.ca and find out how you can take action.