Dangerous Shifts in the Rapidly Evolving World of Online Child Sexual Abuse
By Iain Drennan - Executive Director, WeProtect Global Alliance
As new threats continue to emerge, the rapidly evolving world of online child sexual abuse demands more urgent and global action
In the digital age, technology has revolutionized the way we connect and communicate. Yet, alongside its benefits, it has also fueled a deeply disturbing crisis: the rise of online child sexual abuse and exploitation. This problem is no longer confined to shadowy corners of the internet. It is growing rapidly, evolving in both scale and severity.
If you’re not already alarmed, you should be. The threats facing children online are increasing and becoming more extreme. Take the recent warning from the Australian Federal Police: sadistic online groups are now targeting children as young as 12 on social media, coercing them into producing explicit content. Once the material is created, offenders extort their victims by threatening to share the images with family or friends unless more content is provided. This vicious cycle often escalates into ever more degrading and violent demands including specific live sex acts, animal cruelty, serious self-harm, and live online suicide.
Or recent research from the International Policing and Public Protection Research Institute (IPPPRI) which uncovered a worrying trend: offenders are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to create child sexual abuse material.