Children, who require the care of adults, are among the most vulnerable and innocent victims of crimes. Crimes against children include physical and emotional abuse; neglect; and exploitation, such as through child pornography or sex trafficking of minors. 
Crimes against children are typically local crimes with the vast majority taking place at home or among their family circle. However, there are areas where an international angle is present.¹ A child who has been abused can experience a range of problems including relationship difficulties, lack of trust of adults, emotional outburts or retreat, low performance at school, depression, anxiety, and anger.⁴
Five types of crimes against children
- Child abuse: broadly defined as any type of cruelty inflicted upon a child, including mental abuse, physical harm, neglect, and sexual abuse or exploitation. Specific crimes charges in instances of child abuse can include assault and battery.⁴
- Travelling sex offenders: also known as " sex="" tourism",="" travelling="" offenders="" involve="" are="" individuals="" who="" abuse="" children="" in="" developing="" countries="" by="" people="" travel="" there.="" the="" of="" is="" made="" easier="" countries,="" as="" there="" a="" lack="" effective="" legislation="" and="" an="" abundance="" wealthy="" able="" to="" provide="" monetary="" compensation="" for="" abuse.⁴
- Travelling sex offenders: also known as " sex="" tourism",="" travelling="" offenders="" involve="" are="" individuals="" who="" abuse="" children="" in="" developing="" countries="" by="" people="" travel="" there.="" the="" of="" is="" made="" easier="" countries,="" as="" there="" a="" lack="" effective="" legislation="" and="" an="" abundance="" wealthy="" able="" to="" provide="" monetary="" compensation="" for="" abuse.Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) is a task-force stated by the United States Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) in 1998.² The primary goals of the organization are to provide safe and local law enforcement agencies with the tools to prevent Internet crimes against children byencouraging multi-jurisdictional cooperation as well as educating both law enforcement agents, parents, and teachers.² The main aim of the ICAC is to catch distributors of child pornography on the Internet, whether delivered on-line or solicited on-line The program was initially developed in response to the increasing number of children and teenagers using the Internet, as well as heightened online activity by predators seeking unsupervised contact with potential underaged victims.²
The National Child Victim Identification Program (NCVIP) is the world's largest database of child pornography, maintained by the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) of the United States Department of Justice and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The program's purpose is to identify victims of child abuse. The program was created by Andrew Oosterban, who is now head of the CEOS.³
Photo source: Wikimedia and Wikimedia
References:
1. Interpol. Crimes against children. Retrieved on May 1, 2014, from http://www.interpol.int/Crime-areas/Crimes-against-children/Crimes-against-children
2. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Internet Crimes Against Children Tak Force Program Summary. Retrieved May 1, 2014, from http://www.ojjdp.gov/programs/progsummary.asp?pi=3
3. National Child Victim Identification Program. Biography. Retrieved on May 1, 2014, from http://wn.com/national_child_victim_identification_program/biography
4. FindLaw. Crimes Against Children. Retrieved on May 1, 2014, from http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/crimes-against-children.html