CONTENT WARNING: this article contains mention of child exploitation and child pornography
Since starting the Clubs Feature with Her Campus, my absolute favourite thing that I’ve gotten out of it is being able to bring new clubs to the spotlight, who show as much excitement and drive for what they do as clubs who have been around for longer. There’s something contagious about students who are extremely passionate about something and turn that passion into a club and active initiative on campus. That’s exactly what Julia Kim did when creating Child Rescue Coalition’s UofT branch, after being inspired by Blake Lively’s heart-wrenching speech on the prevalence of child exploitation and child pornography. It takes absolute dedication and perseverance to be able to launch an initiative such as this one, and we at Her Campus UToronto are more than excited to see the things CRC has in store for the academic year. Read on to learn about this organization and how you can get involved!
Name of club/organization: Child Rescue Coalition
Year established: Summer 2017
College/Faculty affiliation: N/A
Find Them At:
Instagram – childrescue_ut
Answers provided by: Julia Kim, second-year Sociology student at Trinity College
Tell me a bit about CRC in a few sentences or less
Child Rescue Coalition is an organization that uses advanced technology to help law enforcement track, arrest, and prosecute sex offenders that violate children. It has partnered with more than 10 000 law enforcement officers in all 50 states in America. Seventy-seven countries use CRC technology to protect children. CRC UT will hold fundraisers and send the profits to the parent organization located in Florida, USA.
What made you interested in organizing this initiative?
I watched Blake Lively’s touching speech on child pornography and was inspired to spread awareness on our campus. Immediately after watching the video, I contacted the CEO of Child Rescue Coalition and began planning a college program at the University of Toronto.
What is CRC UofT’s mission as a chapter of the parent organization located in Florida?
Our parent organization only began a few years ago. They have helped arrest more than 9500 sex offenders and saved more than 2200 children so far. They are making amazing progress and need the funding to continue. They wish to provide law enforcement their technology for free, but cannot do so without donations. CRC UT will help by raising money through fundraisers.
Why should students and organizations care and educate themselves about child abuse?
Many college students do not think that child pornography or sexual assault do not pertain to them. However, when we define “children,” we mean those under the age of 18. Statistics show that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually assaulted by their 18th birthday. Imagine your classroom with, perhaps, 50 students. This means that eight to twelve students in that class could have either experienced sexual assault or will experience it. This is an absolutely chilling emergency that affects our community significantly.
Here are some global statistics on child pornography:
- Research shows that as many as 85% of online offenders are already hands-on abusers of children in real life.
- Approximately 300,000 children are sexually abused every year in the United States.
- Retrospective research indicates that as many as 1 out of 4 girls and 1 out of 6 boys will experience some form of sexual abuse before the age of 18.2
- Fourteen percent of children who suffered sexual abuse were violated by an unknown perpetrator.
- Predators typically have between 50 and 150 victims over the course of their lifetimes.
- Children are most vulnerable to child sexual abuse between the ages of 7 and 13.
- In abuse cases where a child is called to testify, the conviction rate in the U.S. is 46 percent. Conversely, the conviction rate in U.S. child pornography possession cases is 97 percent.
Where does money go to when donating to CRC? Will there be any fundraisers students should look out for by CRC happening this year?
CRC depends on financial donations from the community. The number of children that they can help will decrease if funding decreases. All profits will be sent to the parent organization. Our goal this year is $1000. We are planning to hold bake sales and informational sessions with local law enforcement.
What are you most excited about doing with CRC?
We all speak of wanting to change the world. Words alone will not change it and action must be taken. I am excited to take the initiative to help a wonderful organization and raise awareness on our campus.
How can one get involved with CRC?
We are currently looking for executive members, such as marketing director, events coordinator, and website administrator. If anyone wishes to be an executive member, they can send an e-mail to juliay.kim@mail.utoronto.ca. Those who want to help but do not want the responsibility as executives can become general volunteers!
Edited by Sophia Savva