Online Child Sexual Exploitation Research Articles

Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Children and Adolescents with Disabilities: A Systematic Review

Online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA) is a rising global problem affecting children and adolescents worldwide. Despite the escalating prevalence of OCSEA, there is limited research specifically focusing on children and adolescents with disabilities. To bridge this gap, this systematic review was conducted to identify the prevalence, nature and associated risk factors of OCSEA of children and adolescents with disabilities. Following the PRISMA Statement, this systematic review included scientific evidence from 12 academic databases and the gray literature published between 1993 and 2023. A total of 13 studies were extracted, and thematic analysis was conducted to analyze the data. The findings of this systematic review reveal the characteristics such as the gender, age and type of disabilities of OCSEA victims. Perpetrators use diverse techniques, including online grooming, manipulation, and cyber-threats, resulting in consequences such as mental health issues and social isolation of victims. The associated risk factors include lack of parental monitoring, social isolation, and low risk perception. The results of this research provide crucial insights into OCSEA of children and adolescents with disabilities, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions and further exploration in this understudied area.

Recent Trends in Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Platform Regulation

Recent Trends in Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Platform Regulation

Whited Sepulchers: Exploring Explanations for White Overrepresentation in Online Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation

ABSTRACT This analysis is concerned with the documented-yet-seldom-examined overrepresentation of whites in the US in online child sexual abuse and exploitation or OCSAE. First, we examine two sources of data which indicate an overrepresentation of whites in online child sexual abuse and exploitation including U.S. federal sentencing data and a rapid evidence review of relevant academic research. Second, this analysis then considers potential explanations for this disparity including both differential enforcement and differential involvement. Differential enforcement explanations include the possibility that the disparity is the result of differing law enforcement, prosecutorial, or sentencing practices or varying reporting practices among racial/ethnic groups. The differential involvement explanations considered include differing structures of opportunity (e.g., access and quality of internet available by race), possible variations in sexual fetishism and pornography consumption between racial groups, and the role of victim race in sexual abuse and exploitation. It is likely impossible to provide a definitive list of potential explanations in a single manuscript. This analysis thus considers those explanations that we consider either to be the most likely or are the most apparent.

“This is Not a Slippery Slope” Versus “The Queer Sex Panic is Just Beginning”: Discourse About FOSTA-SESTA in Ideologically Diverse U.S. Mass media, 2017–2023

This research analyzes mass media coverage of The Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) and Stop Enabling Online Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA), two landmark 2018 bills that changed how sexual content is moderated by internet service providers in the United States. Using critical discourse analysis, I compare the framing of 101 news stories about FOSTA-SESTA published in mainstream U.S. newspapers, feminist media, and LGBTQ magazines over the course of 7 years. Findings describe coverage of online sex work, online child sexual exploitation, and free speech concerns that preceded and followed the landmark ruling from 2017 to 2023. I show FOSTA-SESTA's progression as a topic of discourse during the 2020 presidential election and compare differences between coverage in ideologically diverse U.S. media. While mainstream news originally supported FOSTA-SESTA's efforts to restrict the tech industry and prevent online child sexual exploitation, alternative media tended to present skeptical arguments that supported sex workers and other marginalized communities. Journalism industry interventions are discussed.

‘To say report it, well, it seems a little useless’: Evaluating Australians' expectations of online service providers and reducing online child sexual exploitation

AbstractOnline service providers (OSPs) provide a range of opportunities for individuals to engage in online child sexual exploitation, including the production and distribution of child sexual abuse material. As the failings of opaque content moderation systems have become apparent, a range of states have proposed or implemented new regulatory measures, amidst ongoing debates over the legitimacy of state intervention in online communication. This paper presents the findings of a survey of 482 Australian adults regarding their expectations of technology companies and governments in relation to key issues of online child protection. The results suggest strong demands for greater action by OSPs against sexual exploitation, and for governments to legally enshrine some obligations for OSPs, as well as concern about the privacy of innocent users and about the data handling and cybersecurity of governments and technology companies. These findings indicate that governments and OSPs which are seeking to construct meaningful action against online child sexual exploitation might find significant support among the general public for such measures. Equally, these are very sensitive areas of governance for many. Governments and companies would draw significant assistance from understanding the views of users when navigating these challenging issues and ensuring that their measures are carefully calibrated to their legitimate concerns.

The sexual politics of technology industry responses to online child sexual exploitation during COVID-19: "This pernicious elitism".

Increasing rates of online child sexual exploitation further spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic at a time of disrupted child protection capacity. While the technology industry is central to coordinated efforts to prevent online abuse and remove harmful content, it is largely exempt from formal child protection obligations. The aim of this study was to examine the response of the technology industry to online child sexual exploitation during COVID-19 from the perspective of anti-exploitation professionals. An international sample of fifteen anti-exploitation professionals were interviewed as part of a larger study on the impacts of COVID-19 on online child sexual exploitation. Interviews were coded based on a template analysis with a focus on interactions with the technology sector during COVID-19. Major themes arising from the analysis were 1) the burden of online safety work on victims and services, 2) the lack of prioritisation of online child protection by technology companies during COVID-19 and 3) the complicity of the technology industry with the online sexploitation of children. The analysis of the views of anti-exploitation professionals highlights the alignment between the economic interests of the technology sector and the sexual interests of online child abusers in the absence of government oversight. A framework of sexual politics highlights the gendered nature this alignment and emphasises the need for regulatory intervention, harm minimisation and the restructuring of the online environment and technology sector in the interests of child safety.

Secondary prevention of the use of online child sexual exploitation material: an initial overview of international efforts

ZusammenfassungDie Prävention des Konsums von Missbrauchsabbildungen von Kindern stellt die Gesellschaft vor eine Vielzahl neuer Herausforderungen und ist eine Priorität der Europäischen Union (EU). Neben der Identifizierung und strafrechtlichen Verfolgung von Personen, die Medien sexueller Gewalt an Kindern nutzen, besteht in der EU auch der Wunsch, diese Verbrechen zu verhindern, bevor sie (wieder) geschehen. Da sich in den letzten Jahren die Anzahl der gemeldeten Fälle des Konsums von Missbrauchsabbildungen im Hellfeld immer wieder verdoppelt hat, kommt der Sekundärprävention dabei eine bedeutende Rolle zu. Basierend auf allgemeinen Präventionsmodellen gibt dieser Artikel einen europabezogenen Überblick über ausgewählte sekundäre Präventionsprogramme und Interventionsansätze. Ziel des Artikels ist es, Fachpersonen aus Wissenschaft, Politik und Versorgung im deutschsprachigen Raum über bestehende Präventionsansätze zu informieren und dadurch bei der Gestaltung und Umsetzung maßgeschneiderter Präventionsmaßnahmen zu unterstützen. Einleitend wird auf die aktuellen Klassifikationskriterien der Europäischen Kommission eingegangen, die dem besseren Verständnis von Programmen zur Prävention von sexuellem Missbrauch von Kindern dienen sollen. Im Folgenden wird 1) auf Ansätze der sekundären Prävention in Form von präventiver Abschreckung durch Strafverfolgungsbehörden eingegangen und die Bedeutung der übergreifenden Zusammenarbeit mit verschiedenen Interessenvertretern wie Technologieunternehmen (z. B. Microsoft) und Nichtregierungsorganisationen (z. B. International Hotline Operators of Europe) aufgezeigt. Hierbei geht es u. a. um die Verhinderung von Tatgelegenheiten und Abschreckung potenzieller Konsumenten von Missbrauchsabbildungen durch die Ermittlungsbehörden. Weiterhin wird 2) anhand von psychosozialen Interventionsanbietern, wie Lucy Faithfull Foundation, Stop it Now! Helpline, Präventionsprojekt PARAPHILE, „Kein Täter werden“ und weiteren sekundären Präventionsangeboten in Deutschland, beispielhaft die Zunahme der Heterogenität von Präventionsanbietern aufgezeigt. Abschließend werden bestehende Herausforderungen der Prävention des Konsums von Missbrauchsabbildungen diskutiert.

An exploration of the personal experiences of digital forensics analysts who work with child sexual abuse material on a daily basis: "you cannot unsee the darker side of life".

Digital forensics analysts are a specialist group of police officers who are involved in investigating cases of online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA), and identifying and classifying child sexual abuse material (CSAM) according to levels of severity, respectively. The existing literature that has examined this phenomenon suggests that this group of police officers are at greater risk of psychological harm as a result of being exposed to CSAM, and that working with this type of material has the potential to significantly affect their mental health and wellbeing. The study presented here used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explore digital forensics analysts' personal experiences of working in this role, and with CSAM, on a daily basis, as well as how they feel this has impacted on them, and how they manage this. Seven digital forensics analysts from a specialist unit in the UK took part in semi-structured, in-person interviews. Three themes were identified, namely: (i) Once you know you cannot unknow, (ii) Constant struggle to decompress, and (iii) The ups and downs of working as a digital forensics analyst. Participants talked about the difficulty of escaping the reality of the sheer prevalence of CSEA, and that working as a digital forensics analyst ultimately takes a toll on one's mental health and wellbeing. As a result of undertaking this work on a daily basis, participants reported experiencing symptoms comparable to compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout, and reflected about the long-term or irreversible psychological effect that working in this role may have. Findings are discussed in relation to theoretical and practical implications, as well as directions for future research.

International health and wellness of online child sexual exploitation police personnel: individual, management, and organizational realms of responsibility.

Recognizing the need to better understand the operational and organizational stressors as well as the short- and long-term effects of working in the area of online child sexual exploitation (OCSE), the Virtual Global Taskforce international health and wellness study engaged current and former police personnel (inclusive of civilian and sworn officers) working in this area of specialization. Through the use of an online survey, this study engaged current (n = 516) and former (n = 126) personnel and focused on a thematic exploration of several topics of significance: job demands (sources that create distress), general health outcomes (including specific changes since joining or leaving an OCSE unit), health and wellness policies (beneficial aspects, suggested improvements, and desired components if no policy was in place), job resources (sources of positive energy) and personal resources and coping strategies. Recognizing that the health and wellness of police personnel working in OCSE units is not a "one-size-fits-all" approach, this study proposes a unique approach to understanding these impacts, effects and stressors by showcasing the findings across three distinct realms of responsibility: the individual level, the management level and organizational level highlighting the ways in which these work toward creating a holistic approach to safeguarding and maintaining the health and wellness of police personnel.

It's all about time: the influence of behaviour and timelines on suspect disclosure during investigative interviews

ABSTRACT Research on confession has usually focused on showing that it is significantly associated with individual, crime-related, and situational/contextual variables and is both a static event and a dichotomous indicator of interview success. Recent work, however, suggests that investigative interviews are a dynamic process in which interrogation strategies change over time. Using a Game Theory perspective, this study looks at the impact of behaviours of both players (interviewer and suspect) on the production of investigation-relevant information (IRI). The sub-objective is to demonstrate the usefulness of applying Game Theory to the study of investigative interviews by considering time and interaction between players as an integrative part of the analysis. Videotaped interviews related to online child sexual exploitation (n = 130) were analysed and the different behaviours of suspects and interviewers were analysed to determine if they involved (1) rapport building/active denial, (2) collaboration, (3) confrontation, (4) emotion/response, and (5) elicitation of information related to the case. Results showed that information relevant to the investigation is often provided shortly after a suspect has offered additional information or given responses that meet emotional needs (e.g. justifications). The interviewer's use of available evidence increases the likelihood that additional information will be provided, while the ability to build a rapport with the suspect is effective in the longer term, even if a positive effect is not immediately observed. Using a dynamic process approach in analysing investigative interviews provides a starting point for the creation of practical guidelines to help practitioners increase suspect collaboration during investigative interviews.

Crowdsourcing to Tackle Online Child Sexual Exploitation: Europol’s ‘Stop Child Abuse—Trace an Object’ Platform

AbstractThis article examines how Europol’s ‘Stop Child Abuse—Trace an Object’ (SCATO) platform uses crowdsourcing to collect tips from the public in order to tackle online child sexual exploitation. The article evaluates the platform's effectiveness based on three key factors: how easy it is for the public to access the platform, the transaction costs involved in gathering information from the public, and how trust is established between the public and law enforcement agencies. By analyzing Europol documents and conducting interviews with law enforcement officers and non-governmental organizations, the article argues that the SCATO platform is user-friendly and accessible to the public. However, in order to reduce the searching cost of intelligence gathering, the images shared on the platform should encourage high-value reporting without compromising victim anonymity. Additionally, the platform should also benefit from clear guidelines and feedback mechanisms to encourage more public participation.

Conceptualizing an AI-based Police Robot for Preventing Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse:

Conceptualizing an AI-based Police Robot for Preventing Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse:

Even “lurkers” download: The behavior and illegal activities of members on a child sexual exploitation TOR hidden service

Knowledge about online child sexual exploitation (CSE) offenders mostly remains limited to offender populations known by the criminal justice system. Because of its hidden and anonymous nature, knowledge on those offenders active on the Darkweb is especially scarce. For the current study, researchers had access to a unique dataset of member communication on a Darkweb CSE website, as well as members' virtual movements (or clicks) across the side, regardless of being verbally active or not. This offered a unique opportunity to establish behavioral patterns of members who were unaware that they were being observed. This paper summarizes the results of a descriptive analysis of the growth of member count, the frequency with which members were online, and detailed member behavior such as their activity on certain sub-forums and their downloading activity. Main findings include that although only 3.4 % of the members were communicatively active, the vast majority of 93.6 % of members downloaded CSE material. Results indicate that regardless of being verbally active, most members do engage with the site's content, and thus, effectively impact the CSE community. This has important implications for law enforcement practice, which will be discussed. • This study had access to all clicks of members of a Darkweb child sexual exploitation website • A minority of forum members was communicatively active on the website • The majority of forum members (93.6 %) downloaded child sexual abuse material • On average, these forum members download 77 files in a two-week period • Non-communicating members still emotionally engage with the site's content

DINAMIKA KEJAHATAN DUNIA MAYA MENGENAI ONLINE CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION DI TENGAH PANDEMI COVID-19

Today the whole world is facing the threat of the COVID-19 Pandemic, such conditions have changed the social attitudes of children and adolescents whose schools have been closed to spend more time online. This change in attitude has an impact on the field of crime or cyber crime, especially in the form of new sexual exploitation that is currently developing by utilizing internet facilities. This new form of sexual exploitation is known as online child sexual exploitationindicated to be increasingly widespread in the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic.A new form of sexual exploitation that is developing is known as online child sexual exploitation. Several cases of sexual exploitation on a small scale have been found in the Philippines and Thailand, namely cases of grooming (sexual seduction), distribution of child pornography content, and even solicitation in the form of sexting (sending indecent images) have occurred in both countries. The dynamics of cyber crime in the form of online child sexual exploitation have also developed in Indonesia in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, there are difficulties in identifying and investigating violators, as they can continually adapt technology to enable their sexual harassment and exploitation, and avoid detection.In addition, one of the problems that arise is the inconsistent use of terms or terminology related to child sexual exploitation online, so that it has an impact on difficulties in law enforcement.(law enforcement).Therefore, This scientific article intends to describe and explain the terminology and characteristics of online child sexual exploitation in a positive legal perspective, as well as to identify the dynamics of cyber crime regarding online child sexual exploitation in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Child sexual exploitation material offenders, one-size-fits-all for? Exploring tailored clinical dimensions based on cognitive and behavioural criminogenic factors.

Interventions for individuals involved in sexual offending behaviours are likely to be more effective if adapted to focus on their specific characteristics, suggesting that men who engage in sexual offences against children over the Internet should be treated differently from those who have actual physical contact against children. The goal of this study is to explore possible associations between the criminogenic cognitions and behaviours of men using online child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) and variables relevant to intervention. We hypothesised that antisocial tendencies, sexual, emotional and relational problems and self-regulation problems, as well as cognitive distortions would be associated with CSEM use. Ninety-eight men who had been convicted of at least one online CSEM-related offence, but no child contact sexual offences, at any time between 2001 and 2020 were recruited in the province of Quebec (Canada). Cases were reviewed to identify cognitive and behavioural criminogenic factors according to a coding sheet developed after reference to prior literature. Variables were extracted from official criminal records, sexological and psychological reports, as well as investigative and forensic reports and interviews. Exploratory factor analysis was carried out to identify potentially relevant dimensions. Analysis confirmed five distinct factors which, together, accounted for 60% of the variance: dissocial traits, dysfunctional intimacy, passive alienation (internalised sense of alienation), normless alienation (social norms experienced as alien) and coping with threat. Because online CSEM-related offenders present heterogeneous risks and needs, a 'one-size-fits-all' intervention is unlikely to be optimal for most of them. Our findings suggest a way of classifying risks and needs to facilitate more focused interventions. Future research should evaluate the relative effectiveness of general interventions compared to those tailored towards the dimensions of risks and needs identified in this study.

When good is not good enough: evaluating the proportionality and necessity of the Australian government hacking warrants

ABSTRACT In August 2021, the Commonwealth government passed the Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Act 2021 (Cth), authorising warrants that enable government hacking for investigation of past or future crimes. This article analyses the Act to understand the potential intrusions of data disruption warrants on the privacy of individuals. Taking the importance of privacy as extending beyond the individual to the collective political health of the community, it assesses whether the intrusions on privacy by data disruption warrants are limited to what is necessary to address problems that are demonstrated by the government, and whether its use is limited to what is proportionate to achieve these legitimate aims. The analysis reveals there has been some attempt by the government to ensure necessity and proportionality. However, there are significant shortcomings to these safeguards that must be ameliorated. Further, the analysis demonstrates that the government justified these new powers with disproportionate reference to the need to curb online child sexual exploitation. The Act offers a compelling case study of securitisation of online child sexual exploitation to legitimate wide-ranging changes to digital surveillance powers. Recommendations are made for the urgent improvement of the Act.

"It was in Control of Me": Notions of Addiction and Online Child Sexual Exploitation Material Offending.

This paper focuses on notions of "addiction" among users of online child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) through a comparative analysis of two qualitative studies. The first is a 17-month anthropological ethnography (participant observation, interviews, and focus groups) in UK group programs for CSEM users, and the second is based on interviews with individuals in sexual offense treatment units of a US prison. We thematically analyze the narratives of 103 CSEM users at different timepoints and settings from pre-trial to incarceration. Those citing "addiction" focused on three areas. First was pornography progression. Second were perceived indicators of "addiction" and alignment/analogy to other addictions, including ideas about losing control; ignoring detrimental consequences and continuing; physiological signs similar to withdrawal; likening to substances; and progression from "softer" to "harder" material. Third, less common was rejecting the "addiction" label, citing choice and responsibility. We situate these results within debates and literature regarding pornography and Internet "addiction"; implications of the label; societal conceptions of sexual offending; harms of CSEM; and treatment/prevention considerations. Lastly, highlighting the merit of interdisciplinary comparative qualitative analysis, we demonstrate similarities in narratives despite differences in location, timeframe, setting, conviction status, intervention programming, and research methods.

Confidence, Training and Challenges for Canadian Child Advocacy Center Staff When Working with Cases of Online and In-person Child Sexual Exploitation

ABSTRACT Child Advocacy Centers are interdisciplinary hubs that play a vital role in responding to child maltreatment, especially sexual abuse. Sexual abuse cases increasingly involve an online component, but no studies have examined the experience of Child Advocacy Center staff in dealing with online sexual exploiftation. This study surveyed 37 staff at five Child Advocacy Centers in Alberta, Canada to understand their ability to recognize and respond to concerns about online and in-person sexual exploitation of their clients. The majority of respondents (54%) dealt with cases that involved grooming, luring, sexual abuse and child sexual abuse imagery (also known as child pornography) in the last year. Staff were equally confident in their ability to recognize and respond to grooming, luring, sexual abuse and child sexual abuse imagery. However, staff were more likely to have formal training in identifying sexual abuse and less likely to encounter difficulties in responding to sexual abuse relative to grooming, luring or child sexual abuse imagery. Clinicians used similar therapies when working with youth impacted by sexual abuse versus child sexual abuse imagery. Given that most Child Advocacy Center staff in our sample dealt with online child sexual exploitation, additional training in this area may be warranted.

To Catch a Predator: The Lived Experience of Extreme Practices

Across several countries, ever-growing societal alarm about the threat of online child sexual exploitation has provoked a controversial civic response: volunteer pedophile hunting teams that expose predators in livestreamed confrontations. Their practices have generated strong criticisms from a police force unsure how to engage them because they lack an empathic understanding of hunters’ lived experience. Through a three-year phenomenological ethnography of a U.K. hunting team, we advance efforts across organization research to theorize the role of lived experience in social action. Specifically, we deploy the phenomenological concept “way-of-being” to explain hunters’ use of extreme practices. Our interpretive account shows how the multiple ways-of-being that characterize the team’s lifeworld suffuse their practices with a complex layered affectivity that is constitutive of the commitment necessary for their persistence. This offers a phenomenological alternative to social psychological models of motivations for vigilantism while also advancing emotions research in organizational institutionalism and practice theory. Practically, our study contributes to the policing challenge of mitigating hunting’s harmful effects by facilitating more constructive mutual engagement. This offers a possible pathway for addressing the broader challenge posed by epistemically closed, social media–enabled communities that act out their concerns in ways that disregard our common humanity.

Online child sexual exploitation material: A comparison from police data on men charged with child sexual exploitation material exclusively and men charged with contact child sexual abuse exclusively

We do not know whether men who access Child Sexual Exploitation Material (CSEM) are contact child-sex offenders using technology - or a new and different type of child sex offender. This study compares men who were charged with Contact Child Sexual Abuse (CCSA) (n = 95) exclusively, and men who were charged with offences involving online CSEM (n = 99) exclusively. This is the first study of its kind in Australia, the first to divide participants into mutually exclusive offending type groups and to do this using police data. Logistic regression results indicated that CSEM offenders were significantly more likely to be older, more likely to be employed, have fewer criminal charges and supervision violations compared to CCSA offenders. The findings further highlighted the heterogeneity of those charged with child sexual offences based on offence typology. The identification of demographic, lifestyle and interpersonal characteristic differences between online CSEM and CCSA offenders’ questions the use of uniform approaches to community supervision and treatment protocols. The implications of these findings are discussed in light of an increased volume of people charged with CSEM offences.