Washington, DC (November 9, 2021) – The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) supports passage of the National Response to Exploitation and Sexual Abuse of Children in Unaddressed Emergencies Act (or Child Rescue Act), introduced by U.S. Reps. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-7) and Ben Cline (R-VA-6).
The bill will force the Department of Justice to prioritize dual offenders who both use and trade child sexual abuse material (CSAM; aka child pornography) by directing the U.S. Attorney General to create a national working group to identify strategies to rescue children from sexual exploitation and abuse.
“With the dramatic increase in reported child exploitation in 2020, it is imperative to understand the extent of these crimes. Offenders hide behind technology, and law enforcement is not investigating the majority of reports. Unless the DOJ is forced to prioritize these hideous crimes, this national scandal will continue,” said Dawn Hawkins, CEO of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline received more than 21.7 million reports of suspected child exploitation in 2020, the highest number ever received.
