Basically we could not have peace, or an atmosphere in which peace could grow, unless we recognized the rights of individual human beings...their importance, their dignity...and agreed that was the basic thing that had to be accepted throughout the
world.
A University of Victoria team is joining the global fight against child pornography.
“Traditionally we think of protecting as sheltering them from the evils of the world,” said Suzanne Williams, director of UVic’s International Institute for Child Rights and Development. But in the developing world, many children live without adults to care for them. Or worse, adults who will exploit them.
So, as part of the newly launched Child Protection Partnership, Williams and her team will try to address “how do we link vulnerable children with services that will support and protect them.”
The project involves many partners, including the Canadian International Development Agency, which will contribute $2.5 million in funding, the RCMP’s child exploitation section and software developer Microsoft.
Simply finding the children who need help is a massive challenge in its own right, with more than four million websites selling images of child exploitation, Williams said. Globally, police have more than 50,000 individual children they have seen abused in images circulating on the Internet, but have only been able to put names to 500.
Software tools to help police identify and track victims will help, Williams said, but stemming the tide of abuse can begin in the children’s communities. William’s team will work to build the capacity at local and government levels to do that.
“It requires communities and extended families to play a part in protecting children and supporting them. How do we build trust so they can go to an adult if there’s a problem?” asked Williams
The work involves training investigators to respect victim’s privacy, ensure questioning doesn’t re-exploit a child and ensure victims don’t fall back into the hands of the exploiters.
Victoria police grappling with the challenge of catching consumers of child abuse images rely on good luck and solid tips more than hi-tech sleuthing, said Sgt. Grant Hamilton.
The high-profile arrest of an Esquimalt man last month on charges he bought child abuse images came after local police received information from an international operation.
Other arrests have been made after police received tips from people witnessing someone viewing child porn, or computer repair technicians discovering cached images on hard drives.
Published in Victoria News and Saanich News, Friday, February 29, 2008
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