Paeds Cases · child-safety-and-social-paediatrics
Explain online sexual exploitation and the safety plan to an adolescent and parent — OSCE
OSCE communication and shared-planning station: explaining the recognition of online sexual exploitation (financial sextortion) to a frightened adolescent and his parent, the acute-safety and evidence-preservation plan, the dual reporting pathway, and how the team will pursue image removal — without blame, with empathy and honesty.
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You are the paediatric registrar. A 15-year-old boy, medically stable after a paracetamol overdose, has just disclosed financial sextortion: an online contact is demanding money or will send his sexual video to his contacts. His father has arrived, is angry, and wants to take and smash the phone. You have ten minutes. Your task is to speak with the young man and his father together: (1) explain plainly what has happened and that their son is the victim of a crime; (2) explain why the phone and the messages must be kept safe and not destroyed; (3) outline what the team will do now — the safety plan, the reports, and the pursuit of image removal; and (4) agree a clear next step. Be honest, do not blame the young man, and check understanding throughout. [1]
References4ShowHide
- [1]Hong S, Lu N, Wu D, Jimenez DE, Milanaik RL Digital sextortion: Internet predators and pediatric interventions Curr Opin Pediatr, 2020.PMID 31789977
- [2]O'Malley RL Short-Term and Long-Term Impacts of Financial Sextortion on Victim's Mental Well-Being J Interpers Violence, 2023.PMID 36866591
- [3]Kloess JA, Hamilton-Giachritsis CE, Beech AR Offense Processes of Online Sexual Grooming and Abuse of Children Via Internet Communication Platforms Sex Abuse, 2019.PMID 28715937
- [4]Gottfried ED, Shier EK, Mulay AL Child Pornography and Online Sexual Solicitation Curr Psychiatry Rep, 2020.PMID 32025821