Over 100 Devices Recycled to Prevent Online Child Exploitation
Community members took action to keep kids safe by dropping off their old devices at the Sexual Assault Center, Feb. 23-24.
(Green Bay, Wis) – The Sexual Assault Center of Family Services is proud to announce the results of its Smartphone & Tablet Recycling Drive held Feb. 23-24, 2022 in conjunction with Give BIG Green Bay.
Dozens of community members took action to help keep kids safe online by dropping off their old, unused devices. A total of 16 tablets, 111 smartphones and a handful of other devices were recycled to ensure that children and teens would not be able to use them to gain unsupervised access to social media and other apps. Such access can put kids at risk of being targeted for child exploitation or abuse by predators online.
“We are incredibly grateful that so many from our community took the effort to discard unused electronics in the home,” said Holli Fisher, Program Manager for the Sexual Assault Center. “This will reduce the chance that kids will be exposed to potential perpetrators online.”
The idea for the drive came in part from the Sexual Assault Center staff and their work with victims of online abuse, harassment and human trafficking. But also, from one staff member’s personal experience as a parent whose child was found to be using an unmonitored device to access the internet.
Fisher says removing old devices from the home that can still connect to Wi-Fi is a simple step that any adult can take, at any time, to reduce child exploitation.
For more resources on the steps you can take to promote internet safety and prevent child exploitation online, please check out the following links:
