A new survey, led by Monash University researchers and funded by global digital child protection organisation UNICEF’s Safe Online, is inviting Australians to participate in a national research project focused on improving responses to unknowing victim-survivors of online child sexual exploitation.
Image credit: Pexels/ Ron Lach
Over 300 million children are victims of tech-facilitated child sexual exploitation and abuse, according to global child safety institute Childlight. Many of these children are completely unaware that their sexualised images and material are being captured, recorded and then shared online.
For many victims, the first time they learn they were exploited is when law enforcement contacts them. There is currently very limited guidance around how this disclosure should occur in a trauma-informed and victim-centred way.
The project ‘Definitions, Disclosure and Directions: Shifting towards best practice responses for unknowing victim-survivors of Capping and related CSAM offences’, invites participation through an online survey or through a confidential interview with one of the project researchers. Participants must be over 18 years of age and reside within Australia.
The aim is to develop evidence-based, trauma-responsive frameworks to guide law enforcement, frontline professionals, and support services when individuals are identified as victims of exploitation they did not know had occurred.
The project is led by researchers from the Artificial Intelligence for Law Enforcement and Community Safety (AiLECS) Lab – a joint initiative between Monash’s Faculty of Information Technology and the Australian Federal Police – in collaboration with Bond University.
Project lead and AiLECS Research Fellow Kelly Humphries said the study addresses a growing and under-recognised challenge in online child exploitation responses.
“This research is about creating a best practice approach, one that helps us improve prevention in this form of exploitation, reducing harm, and ensuring responses are grounded in dignity, safety, and the lived realities of victim-survivors,” Ms Humphries said.
“Through the survey, we are asking participants about their preferences when being informed about the existence of sexually abusive material depicting them.”
“This includes whether they even want to be told about its existence, and processes around that disclosure– things like support preferences, notification processes, risk considerations and updates around matters they are involved with.”
The responses from participants will improve prevention, disclosure, investigative practices and support pathways for victims and families, while recognising the unique barriers experienced by First Nations peoples, CALD communities, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and other minority groups.
The project is particularly focused on improving responses for victims of emerging forms of online child sexual exploitation where children are exploited, recorded or sexually victimised without their knowledge or understanding.
One form of exploitation being examined is known as ‘Capping’, and typically involves offenders manipulating or coercing children into engaging in sexualised behaviour via webcams, livestreams, video calls, or other image-capture technologies. Offenders capture and record images or videos of these interactions, while the victim remains unaware this is occurring.
The material may be retained for years, traded or distributed within offender networks, or later used to blackmail, coerce or sextort victims, including after they have reached adulthood.
This project joins other studies conducted by the AiLECS Lab like the Survivor Perspectives on Institutional Use of Child Sexual Abuse Material research initiative and other projects aimed at developing more trauma informed and victim-centric approaches for child sexual abuse material victims and survivors.
AiLECS Lab Co-Director Associate Professor Campbell Wilson said emerging technologies are contributing to a rapid growth in child sexual abuse material material being developed and distributed online.
“It is imperative that law enforcement agencies, and the research that supports them, stay two steps ahead of perpetrators leveraging these technologies,” Associate Professor Wilson said.
“Through this project and other initiatives at AiLECS, we are identifying and addressing the significant challenges involved in keeping children safe from harm online.”
