The Rise of Online Child Sexual Exploitation during COVID-19
Author: Jessica Cuevas
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected all aspects of life worldwide; adults began working from home, and students transitioned from in-person schooling to virtual classrooms. Before the effects of COVID-19, technology had already played a significant role in people’s lives. With the leap to a required virtual lifestyle, those who look to exploit children now have more accessible opportunities to entice children online. Some may ask, “What is online child sexual exploitation?” It most commonly includes grooming, live-streaming, obtaining/producing child sexually explicit content, and coercing/ blackmailing children for sexual purposes, otherwise known as sextortion (EPCAT).
Pre-COVID, online child sexual exploitation was a horrendous pandemic that repeatedly revictimized children. Child sexually explicit material, also known as child pornography, has become a rapidly growing form of commerce and perversion. What began as a face-to-face and complicated transaction has become a deep underground, anonymous trade of ease. With technological advancements, child predators can access different forms of child sexually explicit content at the touch of a button from the comfort of their homes. In addition to the internet, various social media platforms and phone applications have given these child predators even more access to children.
The Rise
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) is an organization that assists victims, families, law enforcement, and social services agencies with missing, exploited, or recovered children. According to their database, there has been a drastic rise in online enticement reports and cyber tips compared to last year alone; both reports have more than doubled in the first half of this year. NCMEC has recognized there may be other contributing factors relating to this rise in reports. One crucial distinction noted is that although there is a significant increase in reports, these numbers are not necessarily directly correlated to COVID-19. Aside from news in the U.S., the concern and statistics of online child exploitation have risen internationally. NCMEC and INTERPOL are aware of an increase in darknet forums internationally that focus on child predators discussing the opportunity COVID-19 presents to entice and exploit children online. During the lockdown in Australia, police officials noticed a massive spike in online child sexually explicit material. Law enforcement in Australia commented that child predators use the pandemic to find new victims since more children are online with little parental supervision (Yi, 2020).
Additionally, Australian officials found a “predator’s handbook” online that acts as a grooming manual describing ways to manipulate and exploit children (Davey, 2020). Reports in India have found a 95% increase in demand on Pornhub for searches such as “sexy child,” “child porn,” and “teen sex videos” (Pundir, 2020). Reports in the Philippines have found a massive surge in online child exploitation material; reports nearly doubled between February and March 2020. Two victims rescued from a child exploitation ring were under three months old (Thomson, 2020). The International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children provides more global news centralized on the impact COVID-19 has made on child abuse.
According to the Pew Research Center, 95% of teens have access to a smartphone, and 45% say they are online “almost constantly.” Parents must take safety precautions to protect their children with the influx of children and teens using electronic devices during the pandemic. Below are tips and resources for parents and guardians on safeguarding children and discussing appropriate online behavior.
Tips to Protect Children
Openly communicate with children about online safety and computer use.
Create online boundaries with children. No online parental controls or search filtering tool is perfect, so set limits.
What times can devices be used?
What websites or social media platforms are allowed, and which are off-limits?
Will electronics be permitted once the child is in bed?
Talk about what children should do if they receive unwanted contact online.
Teach children how to report inappropriate content on websites and social media platforms.
Discuss that children should not give out personal information online without their parent’s or guardians’ permission.
Let children know they should never meet someone they have met online in real life or at least without asking permission first.
Encourage children to talk to their parents or guardians before they post pictures.
Set up parental controls and privacy settings.
Turn on safe search settings that block age-inappropriate material or unwanted chat forums.
Ensure online applications and games are set to private.
Cover webcams when not in use.
Let children know they must check with a parent or guardian before downloading or installing any software on a device.
Create healthy and safe online habits.
COVID-19 has created a greater opportunity for child predators to reach children and teens; the rise of one pandemic accelerated the rise of another. It is of utmost importance that parents and guardians know the problem and how to prevent harm. Online child exploitation has never been an isolated issue, and as long as the internet is thriving, so are the predators. The “age of the internet” and the “new normal” virtual lifestyle make keeping children offline almost impossible. The best way to keep children and teens safe is to discuss online safety openly and take precautions while ensuring children and teens understand the dangers that lurk online.
For more tips and information, visit the following sites:
COVID-19 Parenting: Keeping Children Safe Online
Sources:
Davey, M. (2020, May 13). Child abuse predator 'handbook' lists ways to target children during coronavirus lockdown. Retrieved September 26, 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/14/child-abuse-predator-handbook-lists-ways-to-target-children-during-coronavirus-lockdown.
INTERPOL report highlights the impact of COVID-19 on child sexual abuse. (2020). Retrieved September 26, 2020, from https://www.interpol.int/en/News-and-Events/News/2020/INTERPOL-report-highlights-impact-of-COVID-19-on-child-sexual-abuse.
O'Donnell, B. (2020, July 16). COVID-19 and Missing & Exploited Children. Retrieved September 26, 2020, from https://www.missingkids.org/blog/2020/covid-19-and-missing-and-exploited-children.
Pundir, P. (2020, April 14). Disturbing Child Porn Trends from India Under Coronavirus Lockdown. Retrieved September 26, 2020, from https://www.vice.com/en_in/article/jgez3x/disturbing-child-porn-trends-from-india-during-lockdown.
Thomson, M. (2020, May 29). Online child abuse rising during lockdown warn police. Retrieved September 26, 2020, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-52773344.
What is online child sexual exploitation? (2019, November 26). Retrieved September 26, 2020, from https://www.ecpat.org/what-we-do/online-child-sexual-exploitation/.
Yi, B. (2020, July 21). Australia's coronavirus outbreak raises alarm over online child sex abuse. Retrieved September 26, 2020, from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-technology-crime-trfn/australias-coronavirus-outbreak-raises-alarm-over-online-child-sex-abuse-idUSKCN24M1JM.
Ashleigh Diserio Consulting is a behavioral consulting firm that works with individuals and organizations, assisting them in gleaning insight into a person's life, motivation, and past and future behavior. We provide services in the areas of criminal and intelligence investigations, management support, threat assessment, insider threat support, and training.