Displaying items by tag: child sexual exploitation

There needs to be more and better laws and legislation to safeguard children from online sexual exploitation. Later this month the Online Safety Bill will be debated in Westminster as it enters its second reading. The bill will require online platforms to take action to improve child protection. Pray for consensus on the importance of further strengthening child protection, particularly in preventing the livestreaming of child abuse.

A shocking study reveals youngest children face worst sex abuse

'We are also speaking about … babies who are just months old'

A new analysis of an international database of child sexual-abuse cases found that the victim in 5 percent of the cases was an infant or a toddler, and a surprising percentage of the abusers were women.

The study, “Towards a Global Indicator on Unidentified Victims in Child Sexual Exploitation Material,” was done by EPCAT International, a global network of 102 civil societies and organizations in 92 different nations.

Funded by the European Union, it analyzed photos and videos in INTERPOL’s International Child Sexual Exploitation database.

Disturbingly, the study found that the younger the victim, the more severe the abuse was likely to be. The study looked at ages, ethnicity and the likely location of the filming of the abuse.

If found that the vast majority of online child sexual abuse material is made by those in the victim’s circle of trust.

That means “identifying the victim is a priority, because as well as providing an opportunity to remove the child from harm it is often the first step in identifying the offender.”

It noted that there are limitations to the conclusions, because about half the world’s population lives in nations that are not connected to the database yet.

The analysis found 65 percent of the victims were female, 31 percent male and the rest of the offending material depicted both male and female victims.

“When boys were depicted in the abuse, it was more likely to be severe or involve paraphilic themes,” the report said. “It is often considered that most victims of sexual abuse and exploitation are girls. However, the significant proportion of boys depicted in unidentified images and videos in the ICSE Database invites closer attention to this group.”

More than three-quarters of the victims analyzed were white children, 10 percent Hispanic or Latino, 10 percent Asian and small percentages black, the report said.

“The ethnicity may be a proxy indicator for the location of the abuse or exploitation.”

On ages: “Where the unidentified victim’s age could be determined, 56.2 percent of cases depicted prepubescent children, 25.4 percent were pubescent children, and 4.3 percent were very young children (infants and toddlers),” the report said. “When victims were younger, the abuse was more likely to be severe.”

The report said it is “often assumed that victims of sexual abuse are older children.

“This may be due in part to increased media attention and public awareness surrounding the risks associated with young people’s use of technology and the internet, including the production of youth-produced material, but it may also be due to the fact that most people find it hard to imagine the extreme sexual assault of an infant. While the victimization of any child of any age is inexcusable, over 60 percent of unidentified victims in this study were prepubescent, including very young children (infants and toddlers). This finding highlights the need to reflect and potentially prioritize this age group in policy and programming.”

In cases in which the gender of the offender could be determined, 92.7 percent were male, and female offenders often were depicted with a male.

“It was almost always the males who recorded the sexual activity, while the female offenders were actively involved in the abuse of the child(ren),” the report said.

“In cases where females abused a child on their own … these lone female offenders appeared younger in age (some apparently in late adolescence or young adulthood) than those depicted abusing a child together with a male.”

The report said the role played by females “is apparently complex, particularly in terms of distinguishing females who act as proponents or facilitators of this crime, or both.”

The report also noted that experts could determine that 72 countries were identified as locations for the abuse.

INTERPOL officials said there are more than 1 million media files of child sexual exploitation and abuse in the group’s database.

The extremes reviewed in the study included gross assault, sadism, bestiality and even necrophilia.

“Unfortunately, most people do not realize that when we talk about child abuse, we are also speaking about very young children, babies who are just months old, being the victims of extreme sexual assault,” said Bjorn Sellstrom, INTERPOL’s Crimes Against Children unit coordinator.

“Victim identification is at the core of INTERPOL’s work in connecting global investigations into online child sexual abuse. This report underlines the need for more countries to connect to the ICSE database and become part of this important network of investigators dedicated to rescuing child abuse victims,” he said.

Bob Unruh joined WND in 2006 after nearly three decades with the Associated Press, as well as several Upper Midwest newspapers, where he covered everything from legislative battles and sports to tornadoes and homicidal survivalists. He is also a photographer whose scenic work has been used commercially.

WND.com

Pray for the protection of the children from those who want to abuse them in this frightful manner. Pray for the authorities to take strict, harsh action against those who mistreat the children in their nations.

Pray: that the media will begin to cover the plight of such children and that authorities in the USA and other nations where this is a problem will be moved to take action against pedophiles and pimps who engage in sex trafficking. Pray for a huge socio-political revulsion and that this kind of abuse of children, teens and young adults will be stamped out through strong action by our governments.