Virgina brings in online sex pest classes

THE US STATE of Virginia has bought in mandatory lessons which teach kids fear about talking to people online.

The big idea is that if you train kids that there are loads of adults out there who might be posing as children then that whole paedophilia thing will disappear overnight.

The classes seem to be showing profiles of paedophiles who claim they are younger than they are.

Other states are considering similar legislation, according to Judi Westberg Warren, president of Web Wise Kids, a non-profit group funded by the federal government and corporations such as Verizon and Symantec to provide schools with no-cost Internet safety lessons for 11 to 16-year-olds.

The press release quotes a 2006 study by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children found that about 13 per cent of Internet users ages 10 to 17 had received unwanted sexual solicitations. Four per cent of those youths reported being asked for nude or sexually explicit photographs of themselves.

However, one of the things it fails to mention is that many of the rare cases of online paedophilia were when the victim knew the age of the perpetrator and thought they were in a genuine relationship.

Interestingly enough, like many lessons, some kids are apparently paying attention and others are slumped over their desk, bored out of their skulls.

It is basically the same 'stranger danger' courses updated to the 21st century. µ

L'Inq
Web Wise Kids