A fellow mom who is my neighbor and friend brought this issue to my attention today, and asked if I'd mention it in my blog. I know there are scores of other bloggers out there who are doing the same thing, and you may have already seen this topic discussed elsewhere by one of them. Still, I am happy to add my voice to the chorus of concerned Americans who have become aware of a shocking problem in our nation, and who want to do something to help address it. I hope you'll want to support this cause as well.
Oprah Winfrey this week aired an episode of her talk show which exposed the prevalence of child pornography and predators on the internet. We all had a vague awareness that this sort of thing existed. But I know very few of us truly realized the extent of the problem, and this episode was a total eye-opener. I am not an Oprah viewer, but when my friend brought the subject up, I did check online for information on the show, and clips from it. What I saw was unquestionably the most disturbing and heartbreaking thing I have seen in quite a long time. More than anything, it made me mad. As a parent and as a decent person, I found my blood boiling with a sense of rage as I saw exactly what is happening in homes and in towns just like yours and mine, all over America, every single day.
The show went into a great deal of detail, and much of it was extremely hard to listen to or to view. I was deciding whether or not to post any video clips from the show here. Ultimately I decided not to, only because the clips I found on YouTube were not particularly good quality. There are several clips from the show posted there, and if you do wish to view them, you can find the first one by clicking here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5ifr3FC64M. I do warn you, these clips are the stuff of nightmares and anyone with a particularly sensitive nature may find them too disturbing to watch.
The main points to be aware of are these. First, the commonly held ideas of online sexual predators have become outdated. We have all heard the warnings about the pedophiles who frequent online chatrooms or social networking sites, trying to "befriend" children and teens in the hopes of luring them into a meeting in real life. While this problem still exists and must still be closely monitored by concerned parents, we have entered a whole new phase of internet pedophile activity.
What we are talking about here is the use of the internet to spread images of child molestation as a form of entertainment. Again, child pornography sites are nothing new. But these sites, like the most popular social networking sites, have now morphed and expanded to become communities. No longer a static gallery of images, these are now interactive networks where pedophiles post homemade videos and photos of their attacks on children, and where tips and advice on how to commit these attacks are exchanged. Those who are sexual predators against children are no longer hiding their crimes away from the world. On the contrary, there is a vast audience for film and photos of child molesters in the act of violating their victims, and the number of websites where this sort of material gets posted and shared is growing at an alarming rate. It has been estimated that hundreds of thousands of these sexual predators post and view such material online, that at least 100,000 websites offer child pornography, and that tens of thousands of images of child pornography are posted to the web every week.
We are talking about older kids who babysit younger kids, neighbors who host visiting children in their homes, and even parents who target their own children. We are talking about victims who are teenagers, grade-schoolers, toddlers and even infants. We are talking about abduction, molestation, rape, and torture. We are talking about the sort of things that no parent ever wants to see happening to their children, and things that no innocent child should ever have to suffer.
But the point of Oprah's show wasn't just to expose this subject to the general public. It was also to make us all aware that we can do something about it. The U.S. Senate will soon be considering a bill known as the "PROTECT Our Children" Act (Senate Bill 1738), which is a bi-partisan effort to increase funding for the law enforcement efforts that will help bring these pedophiles to justice. Because, as Oprah's show explained, half of the problem is the criminals themselves. The other half of the problem is the fact that law enforcement officials have the technology to trace these predators through their online activity - but the lack of funds and resources for such endeavors prevents authorities from capturing the vast majority of them. Hundreds of thousands of children continue to become victims, as partisan politics in Washington stalls the funding and attention that this effort deserves.
The bill has already passed in the House of representatives by an overwhelming majority. Now it is up to all voters and concerned Americans to urge the Senate to do the same. Below is a link to a page on Oprah Winfrey's website where you will find more details about this bill, as well as tools and contact information you can use to let your Senators know that you want them to act, NOW, on behalf of our children. Please click this link, and take a minute to call, email or write your Senators. The bill is up for debate very soon, so please don't miss your opportunity to support this crucial legislation. And forward the info to a friend, a neighbor, a sister or brother...anyone you know who can add their voice to the cry for help that must be heard.
VISIT OPRAH'S SITE HERE: http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20080911_tows_predators
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