Editorial: Canada must do more to fight child exploitation

Between 2014 and 2023, the number of reported online sexual offences against children in Canada more than doubled, to 2,500 a year from 1,100.

Child sexual exploitation is defined as luring, invitation to sexual touching, non-consensual distribution of intimate images involving victims under 17, and online child pornography.

Over the same period, the number of these offences that resulted in a completed court case fell to just eight per cent. That’s a far higher failure rate than for most other types of crime.

There is some good news. Of the child sexual exploitation cases that make it to trial, three-quarters end with a conviction. Link to full story here.