청소년과 함께 꿈꾸는 탁틴내일

•       “I’m in a helper’s place. He sexually assaulted me last night. But I cannot report him. He gave me food and a place to stay, after all.” – Client A

•       “I met a helper on Twitter. He bought me food and, in exchange, asked for sex.” – Client B

•       “I had nowhere to sleep. Someone on Facebook said I could stay in his empty residence. While I stayed there he bought me some food and told me the place was mine. Then he came there one night and sexually assaulted me.” – Client C

 With child victims seeking help from Tacteennaeil as above, we have come to know the presence of “helpers” on social media. Unlike most English dictionaries’ definition of a helper as a person who helps someone with activities, “helpers” in South Korea today are people who claim to offer food and shelter to vulnerable children online. The majority of “helpers” belies their title: they often end up sexually exploiting children.

To identify how “helpers” lure children online, Tacteennaeil looked into Facebook and Twitter, the two of the most used social media platforms among helpers. For a period of one month from April to May, 2023, Tacteen members observed how “helpers” behave – what they offer, who they target, in each platform.

Facebook

       On Facebook, “helpers” and “helps” – those who seek help from “helpers” – tend to gather in Facebook Pages, some of which are open only for members. Among the Page result of “helpers”, Tacteennaeil joined the three Pages: Helpers, Helps, Runaway Families, For all the runaway youth, Group of runaway people. In these Pages “helpers” and “helps” made postings, offering and requiring food and shelter.

Twitter

        With hashtags including “helper” and “help” and others related to sex and runaway, Tacteen monitored how “helpers” act on Twitter. Furthermore, we created two accounts to approach “helpers”, disguised as teenagers.

        What helpers on Facebook and Twitter mentioned the most in common was their region such as Seoul, Incheon, Busan, etc., to lure children offline. The second most mentioned was offering shelter with many saying they have a spare room. The third was offering food after meeting in person or in the form of vouchers.

       To fake teenagers accounts, a total of 162 people sent direct messages in response to postings seeking help after running away from home.

Conclusion

•        It is hard to estimate how many ‘helpers’ are out there.

 -  Tacteen looked at only Twitter and Facebook.

 -  Private messages are inaccessible.

•        Legal loopholes allow helpers to groom children.

 -  The “sexually explicit” requirement in the law filters out child groomers in their seemingly unharmful conversations. 

 -  Disguised teenagers are not legally allowed to make a police report.

•        The Missing Children Act may accuse helpers 

 -  Article 7 of the Act on the Protection and Support of Missing Children prohibits harboring a child without notifying their guardians.

•        Most helpers took interest in girls, not boys.

•        #Helpers combined with #specific regions are almost always child groomers.

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