Youth Online Sexual Exploitation Counseling Center 'D4Us'
Established in February last year, providing professional counseling to over 4,600 individuals
On the 22nd, we visited the Digital Sex Crime Victim Support Center (DiSeong Center) located in Jung-gu, Seoul, where the Child and Youth Online Sexual Exploitation Counseling Center 'D4Youth' is based. D4Youth was launched in February last year when the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family started a counseling support project to prevent online sexual exploitation of youth.
At the center, Kim Hyo-jung, head of the Youth Protection Team at DiSeong Center, took out a smartphone to highlight the seriousness of youth exposure to online crimes. When she opened a chat application, the screen was filled with messages targeting youth such as "Looking for a minor boyfriend/girlfriend" and "Want to meet high school students." Even after scrolling several times, messages from dozens of users continued endlessly.
Recently, online sexual exploitation crimes targeting youth have been rampant, emphasizing the importance of crime prevention. According to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family's statistics on "Trends and Analysis of Sexual Crimes Against Children and Adolescents," in 2020, 102 sex offenders were convicted for producing or selling sexual exploitation materials targeting children and adolescents, a 62% increase from the previous year. In cases of child and adolescent sexual violence, 22% of all offenders contacted victims through internet chats or similar means.
On the 22nd, Kim Hyo-jung, head of the Youth Protection Team, is being interviewed by Asia Economy at the Digital Sexual Crime Victim Support Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. [Photo by Lee Ji-eun]
Victims Often Unaware They Are Being Exploited... Linking to Legal and Medical Support
D4Youth is a frontline prevention team working to stop such crimes. They provide counseling to youth who reach out through their channels and collaborate with the deletion support team and counseling liaison team under the DiSeong Center to assist victims. Since the counseling channel was established in February last year, they have conducted consultations with a total of 4,609 youth. The number of reports received by D4Youth has also reached 4,709 cases.
On the 22nd, at the Digital Sexual Crime Victim Support Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, Kim Hyo-jung, head of the Youth Protection Team, is explaining the patterns of online sexual exploitation crimes against youth. [Photo by Lee Ji-eun]
Many youth hesitate to seek help for fear that their parents will find out about the abuse. They often set their names as dots (.) or use pseudonyms to keep their identities hidden. Since counseling is conducted via chat, it is not possible during school hours, and conversations with one youth may continue over several days.
Counselors persuade them to connect with one of the 17 Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Victim Support Centers nationwide. These centers help victims receive legal counseling and emergency support such as transportation and meal expenses. Particularly, some youth victims are threatened by perpetrators and often do not realize they are victims of sexual exploitation crimes, making the counselors' assistance crucial.
Kim explained, "Some youth who seek counseling ask if what happened to them, even though the perpetrator was kind to them, qualifies as sexual exploitation crime. There are also cases where youth are anxious because they sent sexual exploitation videos to the perpetrator and cannot tell their parents. We inform them that video deletion can be done without parental consent."
Monitoring Over 250 Chat Apps... Collecting Hashtags from SNS
D4Youth also works hard to directly identify youth at risk of crime. They track posts on various SNS platforms such as Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and Facebook, where youth post about conditional meetings, running away from home, or proxy cigarette purchases, and contact the youth directly. Posts suspected of being used by adults to lure youth by offering gift cards or similar incentives are reported to the platforms for deletion.
To this end, D4Youth collects hashtags highly associated with youth sexual exploitation crimes across various SNS. This keyword-based approach helps detect youth in crisis early and extend a helping hand.
Kim said, "Team members identify frequently used hashtags through SNS posts and share them monthly. Through this, we have found youth posting about selling videos of their bodies and sent messages encouraging them to seek help through D4Youth."
They also closely monitor specific SNS platforms where runaway youth gather. When adult users approach youth looking for places to stay, counselors investigate crime signs through SNS feeds. Additionally, among approximately 800 chat apps registered on the app store last year, D4Youth identified about 250 high-risk apps and tracked posts likely to lead to crimes, successfully prompting their deletion.
Kim noted, "Running away from home and proxy cigarette purchases may not seem directly related to crime, but often these posts lead to criminal activity. To prevent perpetrators from luring youth, we detect such posts early and connect youth to shelters or other support."
Luring with Gifts to Gain Favor... Need to Raise Awareness of Online Sexual Exploitation Crimes
Kim emphasized that the most urgent need for crime prevention is spreading awareness about online sexual exploitation crimes. Many youth and parents do not fully understand the severity and methods of these crimes, leading to exposure and delayed responses that worsen harm.
She stressed the importance of SNS usage education so that youth recognize the dangers of posting personal information online. Kim explained, "Online sexual exploitation crimes occur in the form of 'online grooming,' where perpetrators build favor by giving paid gifts to youth on SNS and gradually manipulate them. Youth who receive gifts or comply with demands often suffer in silence and do not seek help."
She added, "There are many cases where youth are threatened by perpetrators to prevent them from reporting. Since the revision of the Youth Sexual Protection Act in May 2020, child and adolescent victims of sexual exploitation are not punished but supported as victims, and I hope this is well understood."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
