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WINNIPEG, Manitoba, February 17, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — A Canadian advocacy group dedicated to child safety says that online sexual exploitation, sometimes called “sextortion,” of children has skyrocketed by an alarming 88 percent amid the COVID-19 pandemic, given that more time is spent online.
“On average, Cybertip.ca receives 40 sextortion reports a month. Many of the reports involve offenders connecting with youth through social media and live stream platforms like Snapchat, Google Hangouts, Facebook Messenger and Omegle,” said the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P) in a recent statement.
“Simply put, sextortion is blackmail. It’s when someone online threatens to send a sexual image or video of the child/youth to other people if they don’t pay the person or provide more sexual content.”
The C3P said in the press release that due to youth spending more time online amid COVID-19 lockdowns, their tip line called Cybertip.ca has seen an “88% increase in reports.” That number, however, does not necessarily “reflect the true scope of this growing problem.”
According to the C3P, it is “shame” and “guilt” that keeps youth from “telling anyone they are being sextorted.”
In Canada, law enforcement agencies have sounded the alarm over the recent increase in online “sextortion” threats targeting kids in Canada.
A report from last year goes over how Canadians are increasingly being bombarded by “sextortion” email scams. These scams usually involve a victim being blackmailed to send money to an unknown perpetrator, who threatens to release claimed nude photos of a person if they don’t comply.
Signy Arnason, the Associate Executive for C3P said in the press release that there is help available that can assist “youth gain back control of the situation.”
“We want to remind youth they don’t have to deal with difficult online situations alone. There is help,” said Arnason.
C3P says their Cybertip.ca website also has help for families along with educators in the form of “prevention information regarding how sextortion can happen, talking points to have with youth about the issue, and how to help a youth who’s been sextorted.”
The C3P website lists the group as a national charity “dedicated to the personal safety of all children.”
“Our goal is to reduce the sexual abuse and exploitation of children, assist in the location of missing children, and prevent child victimization through a number of programs, services, and resources for Canadian families, educators, child-serving organizations, law enforcement, and other parties.”
Mattel, the California toy maker that created Barbie and is also the parent company of American Girl, has just released their "2021 Girl of the Year."
The popular "Girl of the Year" series features new characters whose lifelike dolls and storybook tales engage the imagination of young girls across the country and world.
But, this year, there's an insurmountable problem which is rightly causing fury among parents: the new "Girl of the Year," Kira Bailey, visits her "great-aunts", in Australia, who, we learn, are in a homosexual relationship, and who are "married" to each other.
This is totally unacceptable, and that's why we're asking you to JOIN this BOYCOTT of Mattel, until they pull this new "Girl of the Year" from the shelves.
Many parents are rightly infuriated. And, many have taken to social media to comment about the situation, focusing on the destruction of innocence and consent.
Indeed, there were no warning labels on any of this year's "Girl of the Year" material, advising parents of the contents. This meant that many children were already exposed to harmful, sexually-confusing material before their parents knew what was going on.
One reviewer on the series on Amazon wrote:
"Homosexuality is an inappropriate topic for a children’s book and I am very disappointed that it was woven so blatantly into the story line for Kira. This type of content should have been made clear in the advertising so that I as a parent could make an informed choice for my child. My daughter and I have read dozens of American Girl books and have always loved them and highly recommended them to friends. Before now, I have never had to worry about American Girl reading material being wholesome for my child. My daughter had no idea what a lesbian couple is and American Girl has cruelly taken away part of her innocence now that I’ve had to explain about that lifestyle. It goes against what I believe as a Christian and was not something I wanted my daughter to be exposed to at this early age. I am very, very disappointed in [American Girl] and will not purchase their products in the future."
Of course, while LifeSite does not believe that homosexual content is ever appropriate for a children's book, we completely agree with this mother's sentiments about Mattel having "cruelly taken away part of her [daughter's] innocence."
It seems clear that this move by Mattel is not a business decision, but a political decision. In fact, this move seems expressly designed to appeal to adults who support a radical sexual ideology.
But, it is not Mattel's role - as a toy-maker - to enter into this delicate area of sexual and moral ethics.
However, because Mattel has chosen to pursue this dangerous political decision over the best interests of children, we are calling on parents to boycott Mattel until they pull Kira Bailey from the shelves.
Thank you for JOINING this boycott, and thank you for SHARING this important petition with your like-minded family, friends and colleagues.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
'New American Girl Doll Story Includes Characters In Same-Sex Relationship, Parents Furious' - https://elizabethjohnston.org/new-american-girl-doll-story-includes-characters-in-same-sex-relationship-parents-furious
**Photo Credit: Screen Capture from YouTube
A recent blog by LifeSite’s Jonathon Van Maren goes over how parents need to increase their vigilance during COVID-19 lockdowns.
“With many children spending far more time than usual in front of screens, it is necessary for parents to be aware of the fact that even entertainment targeted at children is now infused with a sexual and progressive agenda — and worse, that the porn industry is specifically targeting children by tagging hardcore porn content with the names of characters from Disney films and Paw Patrol,” he wrote.