UN expert calls for feedback on digital child sexual exploitation
Mon 06 May 2024
The UN Special Rapporteur on the sale, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children is calling for inputs to inform a report on digital child sexual exploitation.
UN rapporteur call for inputs
The UN Special Rapporteur on the sale, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children has issued a call for inputs on existing and emerging sexually exploitative practices against children in the digital environment.
The closing date to submit is 15 May 2024.
Submissions are limited to 3000 words. Supporting materials, such as reports, academic studies, and other background materials can be added to the submission as an annex.
Submissions can be made by children, schools, communities, hapori, non-government organisations, academics, lawyers, policy experts, human rights institutions, States, UN agencies and other relevant stakeholders.
This is a thematic report that will be submitted to the UN General Assembly. For the report, the UN Rapporteur is focusing on:
- existing and emerging sexually exploitative practices and abuse against children in the digital environment
- the role of Artificial Intelligence in facilitating sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children
- how states and other child protection stakeholders including the technology industry can respond to this problem.
The call for inputs note that this report will build on the previous Special Rapporteur's 2014 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (A/HRC/28/56). This report identified emerging issues from technology at that time. The call for inputs notes that a recent review of research and reports:
"...revealed a recent boom and intensification of manifestations of harm and exposure of online child sexual abuse and exploitation, both in terms of scale and method. The technological potential and current application of “generative Artificial Intelligence” to commit acts of abuse and exploitation contributes to this development."
The Rapporteur has outlined 9 questions she is seeking input on:
- "Please provide information on how technologies are used to facilitate the sexual exploitation and abuse of children.
- What practical recommendations would you propose for States, the technology industry and online service providers to prevent the sexual exploitation and abuse of children in the digital environment?
- What are the remaining gaps that limit the effective implementation and application of existing laws, policies and guidelines to prevent, detect, report and protect children from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse online?
- What are the challenges that exist in the use of these digital technologies, products or services, that inhibit the work of law enforcement across jurisdictions in their work to investigate, detect, remove child sexual abuse materials online and prosecute these crimes?
- What technical and regulatory measures can be put in place by States, the technology industry and online service providers (legislative, regulatory, administrative, institutional and others) towards mitigating human rights risks associated of online child sexual exploitation and abuse, and ensuring the minimum harmonization across legal jurisdictions?
- Are there any other practical examples of internal monitoring, complaint and reporting processes; establishment of regulatory bodies and interventions; remedial pathways; robust safeguarding procedures; children’s rights’ due diligence and risk assessments; and technical standard-setting processes to ensure safety and inclusivity by design?
- In the case of generative Artificial Intelligence and end-to-end encryption, what are the challenges and recommended mitigation measures, including the application of advanced technology needed by technology companies, online service providers and law enforcement to prevent by blocking the sharing and removal of CSAM?
- Are there any examples of proactive measures taken to facilitate consultation and participation with a broad range of stakeholders, including children and child-rights organisations, for informing policy and legislation, setting technical standards and implementing processes to eradicate child sexual abuse and exploitation in the digital environment?
- What kind of mechanism could be put in place to best support and coordinate the joint public and private industry participation at the international level on existing and emerging threats that digital technologies pose to children in order to ensure harmonisation and mainstreaming across domestic and regional efforts when combatting this phenomenon?"
Find more details on making a submission on the call for inputs.
Read more about the UN Rapporteur's concerns in her February 2024 media release UN expert alarmed by new emerging exploitative practices of online child sexual abuse.
Related research and information
Aotearoa research and information
The Child Youth and Wellbeing Strategy outlines Work to prevent online child sexual exploitation and abuse in Aotearoa.
The Digital Child Exploitation Team at Te Tari Taiwhenua | Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) is responsible for responding to and preventing the spread of child sexual exploitation material. Learn more from DIA on Preventing Online Child Sexual Exploitation about what child exploitation material is, how Aotearoa responds, legislation and legal processes, prevention and reporting. Also see research from DIA's Digital Child Exploitation Team including the Online Safety Experience Review (2022).
DIA has also published Terminology recommendations for combatting child sexual exploitation (2022) from the Combatting Child Sexual Exploitation Group. DIA has published Support for whānau, families and friends for non-offending partners and family members impacted by a child sexual exploitation investigation.
ECPAT Child Alert Trust (ECPAT NZ) leads and participates in national and international activities that identify, prevent, and address commercial sexual exploitation of children. ECPAT publishes and is working on Aotearoa specific data and research on child sexual exploitation. For example see their publications:
- Update report on commercial exploitation of children - Aotearoa New Zealand: digital exploitation focus July 2022
- Sexual exploitation of boys: a global review of existing literature on the sexual exploitation of boys (2021).
Other Aotearoa research:
- Designing effective digital advertisements to prevent online consumption of child sexual exploitation material (2020) by Claire Henry
- Child exploitation literature scan: extended review (2023) from Oranga Tamariki.
International research
Recent research from Australia has identified recent trends in child sexual exploitation. For example see:
- Production and distribution of child sexual abuse material by parental figures (2021) from the Australian Institute of Criminology
- Crime & justice research 2022: online sexual exploitation of children from the Australian Institute of Criminology
- “You feel like you did something so wrong ”: women's experiences of a loved one's child sexual abuse material offending (2023) by Michael Salter, Delanie Woodlock and Christian Jones
- “Talk to strangers!”: Omegle and the political economy of technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation (2024) by Michael Salter and Saranda Sokolov
- Parental Production of Child Sexual Abuse Material: A Critical Review (2023) by Michael Salter and Tim Wong
- “Someone who has been in my shoes” : the effectiveness of a peer support model for providing support to partners, family and friends of child sexual abuse material offenders (2022) by Christian Jones, Michael Salter and Delanie Woodlock; also see the related Evaluation of PartnerSPEAK (2021), an Australian organisation that supports the non-offending partners, family and friends of child sexual abuse material offenders
- How to implement online warnings to prevent the use of child sexual abuse material (2023) from the Australian Institute of Criminology.
Research from other countries is exploring similar trends. For example:
- Global Threat Assessment 2023: Assessing the scale and scope of child sexual abuse online
- National analysis of police-recorded child sexual abuse & exploitation (CSAE) crimes report: January 2022 to December 2022 drawing on data from England and Wales
- Perceptions of frontline welfare workers on the sexual exploitation of children in the Pacific (2019) published by ECPAT International
Related news
An April 2024 NZ Police media release highlighted increasing reports of sexually explicit content involving children online and in private messages. It notes that "New Zealand agencies who work in this field - including DIA, Customs and Police - received 19,865 referrals in 2023, up from just over 15,000 in 2022." These are referrals from the US National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) who receives notifications from members of the public and organisations such as social media sites about sexually explicit content involving children, including child sexual abuse images on social media platforms and sent via private messages.
Te Tari Taiwhenua | Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) have published the report, Summary of Submissions: Safer Online Services and Media Platforms (2024). The report summarises the key themes from submissions to the Safer Online Services and Media Platforms consultation. See our previous news story for more information on the consultation.
In May 2024, Media reported that the Department of Internal Affairs will not be progressing with the Safer Online Services and Media Platforms programme.
Related media
Ending Big Tech’s Child Exploitation, Compact, 07.06.2024
Government swerves away from tackling online ‘industrial-grade’ violence, The Post, 12.05.2024
International child protection unit at Oranga Tamariki to be slashed, Newshub, 01.05.2024
Digital safety, anti-money laundering jobs in cut proposal, The Post, 22.04.2024
More frontline cuts as Government goes soft on organised crime, PSA media release, 22.04.2024
Law needs to keep up with AI child abuse: experts, The Press, 18.01.2024
Image: Rodion Kutsaiev on Unsplash
