SIGNY ARNASON: Society needs to protect children.

A Winnipeg-based group's study into the sickening world of child sexual abuse and pornography revealed most victims are pre-pubescent children under 12 who don't understand the disgusting acts against them are wrong.

This is one reason why the Canadian Centre for Child Protection is demanding wider education for young kids and adults, so they can recognize and report inappropriate behaviour, interrupt or prevent sexual abuse, and be comfortable disclosing abuse to a family member, friend or authority.

"Children are being sexually abused before the images hit the Internet, what we'd like to see is citizens playing a larger role in protecting children and stopping the abuse before the images hit the Internet," said Signy Arnason, director of Cybertip.ca, which is owned and operated by the CCCP.

Released yesterday, the report examined a variety of issues and suggests a number of ways to prevent abuse and catch offenders in what's become a worldwide problem. It's the first in a series of studies.

In terms of education, special attention must be paid to kids under 12, the report states.

The report is based on the analysis of thousands of websites and images reported to Cybertip.ca between September 2002 and March 2009.

More than 82% of images depicted very young, pre-pubescent children under 12. Most were female. Most concerning was the rate of extreme and severe abuse, some involving violence, as more than 35% showed serious sexual assaults, the report stated.

This challenges the misconception most material is innocent or harmless nude photos, the report stated.

Most kids are abused by someone they know, Arnason said.

The report delved into the structure of money-making child-porn websites, which are part of a multi-billion dollar business, and how operators protect their identities to elude capture. These are among the challenges police and organizations such as CCCP face.

To view the report, titled Child Sexual Abuse Images: An analysis of websites by Cybertip.ca, go online to protectchildren.ca.

chris.kitching@sunmedia.ca