New report shows the scale of child sexual exploitation and abuse online is increasing, calling for a stronger collective global response

·         The 2021 Global Threat Assessment report by WeProtect Global Alliance calls for a step change in the global response to the issue

·         A report published in 2020 stated that India has seen a 95% increase in internet searches for child sexual abuse materials during COVID-19

·         COVID-19 has contributed to a significant spike in child sexual exploitation and abuse online

·         1 in 3 respondents (34%) to global Economist Impact survey were asked to do something sexually explicit online they were uncomfortable with during childhood

·         Study shows LGBTQ+ children amongst those more likely to experience sexual harm onlineⁱ

·         Despite the concerning findings, there is hope that advances in online safety technology and increased government engagement can help to turn the tide on the global crisis.

WeProtect Global Alliance, a global movement of more than 200 governments, private sector companies and civil society organisations working together to transform the global response to child sexual exploitation and abuse online, has today published its 2021 Global Threat Assessment.

Its findings show that the scale of child sexual exploitation and abuse online is increasing at such a rapid rate that a step change is urgently required in the global response to create safe online environments for children.

It shows that in the past two years the reporting of child sexual exploitation and abuse online has reached its highest levels with the US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) processing 60,000 reports of child sexual abuse online every day.A report published in 2020 stated that India has seen a 95% increase in internet searches for child sexual abuse materials during COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic is undeniably one contributory factor behind the spike in reported incidents. The rise in child ‘self-generated’ sexual material is another trend that challenges the existing response with the Internet Watch Foundation observing a 77% increase in child ‘self-generated’ sexual material from 2019 to 2020.

Iain Drennan, Executive Director of WeProtect Global Alliance, says:

“The internet has become central to children’s lives across the world, even more so as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past two years, we have observed an increase in the scale and complexity of child sexual abuse online. This report should act as a wake-up call to us all; together we must step up the global response and create a safer digital world for all children.”

The 2021 Global Threat Assessment report details the scale and scope of the threat of child sexual exploitation online andaims to encourage action on the issue to reduce the risk to children and prevent abuse before it happens.

The three main insights of the report are:

1.      The scale and complexity of child sexual exploitation and abuse is increasing and is outstripping the global capacity to respond.

2.      Prevention needs to be prioritised.While a strong law enforcement and judicial response is essential, a truly sustainable strategy must include active prevention of abuse. There is a need to ensure the creation of safe online environments where children can thrive.

3.      To tackle this complex, global issue, everyone with a role to protect children online needs to work together to dramatically improve the response. There is reason to be hopeful with child sexual exploitation and abuse moving up the global agenda, online safety technology becoming more accessible and advanced, and governments doing more to act.

As part of the report, a global study of childhood experiences of more than 5,000 young adults (aged 18 to 20) across 54 countries was completed by Economist Impact. More than one in three respondents (34%) had been asked to do something sexually explicit online they were uncomfortable with during their childhood.

Also included in the report was a survey of technology companies that showed most are using tools to detect child sexual abuse material (87% use image ‘hash-matching’), but only 37% currently use tools to detect online grooming.

WeProtect Global Alliance’s Global Strategic Response (GSR) provides a global strategy to eliminate child sexual exploitation and abuse, calling for greater voluntary cooperation, transparency, and implementation of online safety technologies, greater regulation to make online environments safer for children, and an increased investment in law enforcement.

Tarang Khurana, Chair, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)’s Young Indian’s Project Masoom said, “There is enough evidence to infer that lockdowns and disruptions caused due to COVID-19 have significantly contributed to the spike in online child sexual exploitation and abuse. The easy access to abusive content involving children is deeply concerning. The universality of the problem requires collaborative action and we all have a shared responsibility to end this. Along with strong law enforcement it is imperative to create empowered individuals, society, and community, who come together to uproot this systemic menace.”

The Economist Impact survey also demonstrated that girls, and respondents who identified as transgender/non-binary, LGBQ+ and/or disabled, were more likely to experience online sexual harmsⁱduring childhood, and respondents who identified as racial or ethnic minorities were less likely to seek help:

·         Overall,57% of female and 48% of male respondents reported at least one online sexual harm

·         59% of respondents who identified as transgender/non-binary experienced an online sexual harm, compared to 47% of cisgender respondents

·         65% of respondents who identified as LGBQ+ experienced an online sexual harm, compared to 46% non-LGBQ+

·         57% of disabled respondents experienced an online sexual harm, compared to 48% of non-disabled respondents

·         39% of racial or ethnic minority respondents would delete or block a person sending them sexually explicit content, compared to 51% of non-minority respondents.

·         17% of racial or ethnic minority respondents spoke to a trusted adult or peer about the content, compared to 24% of non-minority respondents

To download the full reports please visit here: https://bit.ly/GlobalThreatAssessment21.