Minors are engaging in prostitution on social media

SOCIAL workers are urging parents to observe their children’s online habits to ensure they do not become victims of sexual abuse or exploitation.

- THEOLIN TEMBO [e-mail]

Civil organisations and the West ern Cape Department of Social Devel opment (DSD) made a plea after a social worker shared insights into one of the problems they have to deal with.

The Association for Child Welfare and Victim Support’s Child Protection officer Preshema Sewpaul said not only were social workers dealing with areas rife with gangsterism and substance abuse, but also minors engaging in prostitution.

“We have a lot of children sitting on social media and using social media for prostitution. It’s not so much that they stand on the corner; they meet people through social media, alleging that they’re over 18, and then they have older foreigners who believe this, who then engage with them sexually.

“And then they are falling preg nant and/or getting STDs. So I have high rates of teenage pregnancies and runaways from home,” Sewpaul said.

The phenomenon of minors being sexual online is not new, with a study from ECPAT, a global network of civil society organisations dedicated to end ing child sexual exploitation, in 2021 already explaining that children have always explored their sexuality.

“It is important that adults remind themselves that a lot of a child’s life takes place online, meaning that most of what is part and parcel of being a child or young person will also take place there.

CIVIL organisations and the Western Cape Department of Social Development (DSD) have made a plea after a social worker shared insights into one of the problems they have to deal with. | Pexels

“This means that flirting, falling in love, and sex will all be a natural part of children and young people’s lives online. Children and young people will continue to explore and exper iment with sex, regardless of what their parents say; for many people, the internet may be a safe space to do this,” the study said.