atalonia registered 97 reports of cyberbullying against minors in 2017. This information was provided by the head of the Central Unit for Citizen’s Advice and Support within the Catalan Police Force (Mossos d’Esquadra), Montserrat Escudé, this Thursday at the III Forensic Psychopathology Event at UIC Barcelona.  

It was an event dedicated to controversies and challenges related to child sexual abuse through ICTs in which Escudé also pointed out that last year 757 cases of sexual assault were reported, out of which 30% were related to minors.  Likewise, a total of 1.084 reports of sexual abuse were registered; 39% from young people under the age of 18.  

Escudé, who participated in the event along with other experts in the material, specified how the authors of online child sexual abuse reach their victims.  There is an approach called the grooming process during which the victim is initially identified and then their trust is gained, taking advantage of a lack of affection in the victim’s life.  Then there are actions to maintain control over and sexualise the relationship with the aim of isolating the victim.   

1 out of 5 children are approached at a sexual level

Along these lines, the head of the treatment and legal care service at the Vicki Bernadet Foundation, Irene Montiel, stated that one out of five children receives unsolicited sexual approaches and two out of five minors have faced some type of sexual victimisation on the internet.  “Poly-victimisation is the rule and not the exception”, she said in her talk in which she also pointed out that “the greatest risk of suffering sexual victimisation on the internet starts from 14 years old onwards, particularly among young girls”. 

The president of the foundation that bears her own name, Vicky Bernadet, lamented the fact that “over the past 20 years we have still not managed to ensure that we remain one step ahead of predators” and asked for joint efforts to be made between institutions, professionals and experts to manage to move forward in these cases.  

Providing guidance to the victim and their family

On the other hand, professor and researcher who is an expert in online victimisation in the Faculty of Psychology at the Autonomous University of Madrid, Manuel Gámez, stated that “adults do not jump straight into the sexual, instead it is much subtler” and they move step by step, “which is far-removed from the idea of a crude abuser”.  

The forensic psychologist and lecturer for the Master’s Degree in Legal, Forensic and Criminological Psychopathology at UIC Barcelona, Josep Ramón Suárez, also participated in this event and highlighted the fact that “these incidents have a virtual point of contact as well as a physical one” and that “cyberspace is the ideal place for minors to look for new friendships that fill the void” which many victims feel.  

Likewise, the expert highlighted the need for professionals in contact with minors to act by guiding them without labelling them, as well as “helping families to understand the abusive dynamic”, while at the same time avoiding secondary victimisation.  

The experts present at the III Forensic Psychopathology Event at UIC Barcelona agreed on the need for experts and agents related to these cases to continue to study and be trained in attainment and evolution in these situations. Escudé added that it is also very important to continue to report these crimes.