Bucks child sexual abuse survivor calls for the internet to be made safer
A child sexual abuse survivor from Buckinghamshire is urging tech companies to act now to make the internet a safer place.
Last updated 21st Sep 2023
Child sexual abuse survivors are calling for the internet to be made safer for children.
It comes as a landmark letter was signed by over a hundred survivors urging tech bosses to take responsibility for the safety of their products.
The letter was spearheaded by a survivor who was sexually abused via encrypted messaging app WhatsApp as a 13-year-old and has been signed by 43 survivors of online child sexual abuse and 61 global child safety organisations and academics.
"...there's so much shame..."
Elaine, 35, whose name was changed to conceal her identity, is an Online Safety Campaigner from Buckinghamshire who was groomed into sending photographs to an older man when she was 15.
She was sexually abused by him after they met on a chat room for children.
Elaine said: "I went on to meet him and things started happening that I was really uncomfortable with and obviously being that young I didn't really understand, and he went on to sexually abuse me for quite a while."
"You look back and think why didn't I see that, why did I let that happen to me, and there's so much shame that even now I think people come forward with historical sexual abuse it's taking that step to try and shed that shame."
Survivors say their safety and privacy rights have been eroded by dangerous social media and private messaging services.
"... you genuinely believe you are in a relationship..."
One of the safety concerns is the lack of end-to-end encrypted messaging services on many platforms.
Elaine said: "At the time when you're in that situation as a child, you genuinely believe that you are in a relationship with that person."
Signatories hope the letter, which has been sent to executives at tech platforms including Mark Zuckerberg at Meta, Evan Spiegel at Snap, Meredith Whittaker at Signal and Tim Cook at Apple, will enable the necessary steps to be taken urgently.
Other signatories include Phoenix 11, a collective of survivors whose child sexual abuse was recorded and distributed online, and survivors who work directly with the NSPCC as online safety campaigners.
Sexual abuse victims not only experienced trauma from a young age, but continue to face the effects of abuse throughout their lives.
"When you go on to have relationships as you get older that is almost what you seek out because that's what feels safe", added Elaine.
Tech companies are now urged to play their part in global efforts for online safety regulations to protect children from abuse.