'It's about having open communication': Advice for families as online child luring reports rise

First at Five: Stranger Danger New data shows there’s been an alarming rise in child luring in Canada – and a disturbing use of AI technology to do so.

Canada’s tipline for reporting online child sexual abuse and exploitation has reported its website, cybertip.ca, has seen child luring reports grow from 220 in 2018 to more than 2,000 by the end of 2022.

Last month, the 815 per cent increase prompted the site’s executive director to call on governments around the world to regulate technology companies to ensure children are better protected.

“This dramatic rise in online sexual luring should set off alarm bells for everyone. Social media platforms provide ill-meaning individuals with a direct and unfettered access to our children 24/7,” said Lianna McDonald in a news release.

Last week, Cybertip.ca director Stephen Sauer told CTV News online luring poses a serious risk as perpetrators continue to target young people through apps and social media platforms.

“They’re consistently coming to the youth and saying, 'Send me a picture, send me a picture, if you don't send me a picture, I’m going to do this,'” he said.

Cases of child luring have also been making headlines. In Toronto, police recently laid nearly 100 charges against a 31-year-old Toronto man after an investigation into the luring and sexual assault of underage victims in Ontario.

Experts are increasingly concerned that advances in technology, like AI filters used to make people online look younger, may make it easier for predators to pose as peers.

“This is about having open conversations at home around the dinner table,” says Julia Drydyk, executive director of the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking.

Drydyk says it’s important to make kids feel supported at home so they know they can talk about what may be happening online free from stigma or judgement.

“We need to be talking about what healthy relationships look like, we need to make sure that they're not keeping secrets,” she says.

“It’s about making sure that they have a robust safety net at home and in their community where they always know they can go to someone for help if they need it,” Drydyk adds.

She says it’s important for families to realize that human trafficking can happen anywhere.

“During the pandemic, we saw that while a lot of human trafficking happens in our commercial sex industries, some of it was actually happening in-home, through web-camming and remote sexual activity," Drydyk says.

She says that makes knowing the signs even more important for families.

“[If] you're seeing signs of maybe an older boyfriend or set of friends being secretive about what's happening, not sharing information about where they're going or what they're doing, and towards later stages you might see incredibly expensive things … that don’t make sense," says Drydyk.

“It’s really about withdrawal from their friends and their family,” she explains. “And those signs that something just ‘doesn’t feel right.’”

Experts advise families reach out for help and support if they suspect their child is a victim of online luring, exploitation, or trafficking.

The Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking has a toll-free 24-hour hotline for anyone needing help, including victims, at 1-833-900-1010.