Watchdog records 87 percent jump in online child sexual abuse cases

Watchdog records 87 percent jump in online child sexual abuse cases

A child exploitation watchdog on Tuesday reported an 87 percent increase in child sexual abuse material cases since 2019.

WeProtect Global Alliance, in its fourth Global Threat Assessment Report, said there are over 32 million reported cases globally.

The report, quoting the Internet Watch Foundation, also found out there has been a 360 percent increase in self-generated sexual imagery of 7-10-year-olds from 2020 to 2022.

The findings underscore the pressing need for a coordinated, multi-faceted response to protect the world’s children from this escalating threat.

“Shockingly, it was also revealed that conversations with children on social gaming platforms could escalate into high-risk grooming situations within 19 seconds, with an average grooming time of just 45 minutes. Social gaming environments that facilitate adult-child intermingling, exchanging virtual gifts, and public ranking systems significantly increase these risks,” the group noted.

The research found a significant rise in financial sexual extortion, with reports of the harm jumping from 139 in 2021 to over 10,000 reports in 2022.

These involve perpetrators grooming and manipulating children into sharing sexual images and videos of themselves and then extorting them for monetary gain.

Many extortionists pose as young girls online and predominantly approach boys aged between 15-17 years old via social media.

WeProtect Global Alliance said the phenomenon has resulted in a string of cases where children commit suicide.

“New technology is heightening the threats that children face online. Since early 2023, cases of perpetrators also using generative artificial intelligence [AI] to create child sexual abuse material and exploit children have been increasing. (It was also) found that while less than 1 percent of child sexual abuse material files shared in a sample of offender communities are currently photorealistic computer-generated imagery (CGI) of child sexual abuse, the volume has increased consistently since August 2022,” it added.

In a related development, Australia last month, and in a global first, put in place measures that require big tech companies to take steps to ensure AI products cannot be used to generate deepfake images and videos of child sexual abuse.

“Our latest report shows the scale of the threat children face online. Online-facilitated child sexual exploitation and abuse worldwide demands our attention and action right now. New technological capabilities further exacerbate existing risks, and the situation is no different in The Philippines,” WeProtect Global Alliance executive director Iain Drennan said.

He added that children’s safety must be non-negotiable.

“To prevent more children from coming to harm, governments, online service providers, charities, and companies must step up their efforts and work together to drive change and protect children,” Drennan said

Meanwhile, IJM’s Centre To End Online Sexual Exploitation Of Children, International Justice Commission executive director John Tanagho, said reports of child sexual abuse online is escalating is a reminder that the time for change is now.

“Its finding that sexual imagery of 7-10-year-old children is on the rise should outrage policymakers and corporate executives alike. The report underscores IJM’s recent Scale of Harm finding that nearly half a million Filipino children were sexually abused to create images, videos, and livestreams for sale to offenders globally in 2022 alone,” he added.

Tanagho also said children everywhere urgently need tech companies to deploy safety by design to augment justice system responses and prevent abuse at scale.

“Online safety regulation, especially in countries home to offenders fueling demand for abuse, is critical to create industry-wide action to protect children online. The Philippine Survivor Network and other survivors are advocating for online safety bills, and their voices remain central in driving effective responses globally,” he added.