Presentations
Sarah
NAPIER
Australian Institute of Criminology
Presentation:
Viewing child sexual abuse material for the first time: Findings from an anonymous survey of Internet users
The number of reports of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) detected on online platforms has increased dramatically in the last decade. Research has suggested that some individuals engage in a progression from typical adult pornography to atypical adult pornography (e.g., bondage, discipline, sadism, and masochism (BDSM), bestiality) to CSAM. Examining the onset to adult pornography and CSAM can therefore help identify intervention points for prevention and disruption.
To investigate first exposure to adult pornography and CSAM, we anonymously surveyed a community sample of 5512 adults in five different countries: 742 (13.5%) survey participants self-reported viewing CSAM; 77% were male, 19.5% were female and 3.5% identified as another gender/sex. Majorities of respondents who viewed CSAM (71.2%), BDSM adult pornography (66.6%), and bestiality adult pornography (62.4%) were first exposed to this material prior to age 18. Females were significantly more likely than males to view adult content at younger ages. Younger age of exposure to typical and atypical adult pornography predicted younger age of exposure to CSAM, and respondents aged under 40 years were significantly more likely to view CSAM at younger ages (p < .001). Self-reported CSAM viewers predominantly first discovered CSAM unintentionally (86.1%) and when alone (76%).
The findings suggest a need for increased interventions that prevent exposure to CSAM and illegal adult content among adolescents.
Open Access
Presentation Two:
Patterns, prevalence, disclosure, and impacts of sextortion victimization among Australian adolescent
Sexual extortion is a form of blackmail in which a perpetrator threatens to release intimate material of a victim unless they comply with certain demands.
This crime has rapidly become a critical child safety issue, with the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation and the eSafety Commissioner receiving a staggering increase in reports from minors saying that someone had sexually extorted them for money or more intimate material in recent years. This study examines the prevalence and nature of sexual extortion among a sample of 1,953 adolescents residing in Australia.
This presentation will provide an overview of the patterns of victimization reported by adolescents, including the types of demands they received, which online platforms they met their perpetrator on, and whether their images had been digitally manipulated. The study reveals the serious and varied short- and long-term impacts of sexual extortion, and low rates of disclosure and reporting of victimization among adolescents. The study emphasizes the unique support needs of victim-survivors and the urgency of targeted approaches to reduce this crime.