STOP the sexual abuse of children!

I'm beginning to think I can do a little bit for the world that we live in. No, I'm not an activist nor will I be starting a campaign to fight for justice or the sort. LoL =P

BUT, you know, if I ever do come across something which requires collective effort, and minimum involvement, I think to myself, why not just do my bit?.

I'm not aiming to have my name written in history, but just doing my bit as another human being who lives in the same place as everyone else, Earth. Because I think it is my duty and responsibility to do it, as little as it may be. Things in the world will never move if everyone waits for anyone to do anything. The first step is one that comes from your heart, and to help educate others on it as well. That is why I'm sharing it with your guys.

Moving on to the title above. I stumbled across this as I was randomly browsing along the internet the other day, and again when I was reading my new copy of the Reader's Digest, November 2006. So yea....perhaps it's a sign that I should get my butt moving to help. hahaha XD

Question: What is this whole thing about anyway?
Answer: child sexual abuse. CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE!

The internet has laid the foundations for child pornograph, by providing easy access and transaction methods. And as the world begins to move towards a newer generation, millions are unaware of the victims who are caught, forced, tortured beyond their imaginations, losing their innocence, childhood and freedom in the process. This my friends, is the reality.

Children are being exploited for sex trade, cheap labour, violence and pornography!

The child is treated as a sexual object and as a commercial object

~ Commercial sexual exploitation of children

Child molestation is an informal synonym for child sexual abuse, most often used for sex between adults and young children

~ Child sexual abuse

The loss of anonymity that comes with making payment, combined with the availability of free material, inhibits demand for commercial product, and the loss of anonymity that comes with receiving payment inhibits the supply

~ Child pornography

In many of the images, a girl was being beaten and raped. In several, there was a hunting knife pointed to her and slogans such as "Kill me, I'm a slut" were scrawled on her body. There the most violent and degrading images Gillespie had ever seen. But the photo of the girl inside a dog cage got to him most. The girl, about five or six was naked and crouching, so that the most of what you saw was her face and the terrified look in her brown eyes. She was crying, the corners of her mouth turned down miserably.

~ "r u in ur pjs?" by Julie Morgan, Reader's Digest, August 2006

Paedophiles were exploitng every aspect of the Internet, sharing abuse tips and trading millions of homemade movies and photos as if they were baseball cards. It's estimated 25 to 50 per cent of those viewing and trading images have also commited hands-on sexual abuse. Gillespie estimares an astounding 50,000 children are involved worldwide, both boys and girls, and only a small fraction have ever been rescued.

~ "r u in ur pjs?" by Julie Morgan, Reader's Digest, August 2006


The above links will help you undersatnd more about sexual abuse of children. Spend a few minutes to click it and learn. A few minutes it all it takes for you to gain knowledge which will last for a lifetime.

Question: How can I start doing my bit?
Answer: Light a candle of support at Light a Million Candles

The innocent victims of Internet child abuse cannot speak for themselves.

But you can.

With your help, we can eradicate this evil trade.

We do not need your money.

We need you to light a candle of support .

We're aiming to light at least One Million Candles by December 31, 2006.

This petition will be used to encourage governments, politicians, financial institutions, payment organisations, Internet service providers, technology companies and law enforcement agencies to eradicate the commercial viability of online child abuse.

They have the power to work together. You have the power to get them to take action.

Please light your candle at lightamillioncandles.com or send an email of support to light@lightamillioncandles.com.

Together, we can destroy the commercial viability of Internet child abuse sites that are destroying the lives of innocent children.

Kindly forward this email to your friends, relatives and work colleagues so that they can light a candle too.

LIGHT A MILLION CANDLES campaign

The recently launched Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography (Coalition), which is being spearheaded by the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children and our sister organization, the National Center for Missing &Exploited Children, has an ambitious goal: to eradicate the commercial viability of child pornography by 2008. In support of the Coalition’s efforts, a team of volunteers in Singapore has devised an awareness campaign, entitled “Light a Million Candles,” which encourages public action to combat the exponential growth of child pornography on the Internet.

~ International Centre for MISSING and EXPLOITED children

I have lighted a candle of support. Have you?

And before you go off thinking that lighting a candle is the only thing to do. THINK again.

You can continue to help by SPREADING the word! E-mail to your friends, post on forums/blogs/myspaceslivejournals, chat up with your buddies!! These are the things we can do together.

1500% increase in internet child abuse images since 1988

140,000 child abuse images were posted onto the Internet over one six-week period

20% of all indecent images on the Internet involve children

100,000 number of websites worldwide contains images of children being abused

Up to 20,000 children appear in pornographic images online everyday

19% of paedophiles have images of children 3 years of younger

Online child pornography is a multi billion dollar industry - estimated to be several times bigger than online music sales

So yea...watch me come bug you guys. =P

When the time comes for us to actually have children of our own, we want to provide them a safe world to live in. Yes, I do. Do you?