A new child protection campaign wants to detail the risks of adults using dating apps.
The Canadian Centre for Child Protection is asking the public to exercise caution when using dating apps, stating that they can be used to exploit children and share intimate information and pictures of someone’s child. For parents using such apps, the campaign asks that users don’t overshare information about their kids.
It warns parents, based on data from the Australian Institute of Criminology, that predators can target single parents through such apps in order to gain access to their kids. This can be done by asking parents about their kids or even pressuring them to provide sexual photos of them.
In its release online, the centre states that there are “inherent risks associated with sharing information and pictures of your children online, including on dating apps.” It alludes to an online manual written by offenders who provide “tips on dating apps, mostly directing their advice towards male offenders seeking single mothers.”
Signy Arnason, the centre’s associate executive director, says there are things offenders look for on dating apps to identify vulnerable people.
“It’s reasonable that you’re going online. I mean, that’s how dating happens. The struggle is when you advertise that you have children, regrettably we know that in child sexual abuse forums or dark web forums, offenders are talking about ways by which to identify vulnerable women in dating apps,” Arnason said.
“It’s really essential that you’re cautious in the beginning. Of course, at some point you need to disclose that you have children … but in the very early days, putting their photos online (or) advertising that you have kids, we want people to be aware that this is something the offending community will look for.”
Arnason added that it’s important to look for red flags when using such dating apps. These can include anyone who comes in and starts to ask for images of children.
“If you’ve got someone really interested in your children right out of the gate, that is just something to pay attention to,” Arnason said.
A key preventive measure, according to the campaign, is to not include information about your children on your dating profile. Putting boundaries, it reads, is extremely important.
An October 2022 survey by the Australian Institute of Criminology of more than 9,900 people found that one in 10 respondents had met someone on a dating app or website who asked them to provide photos of their children or children they knew. Half of these respondents said they were pressured to provide sexual photos of the children.