Understanding online child sexual exploitation

Information from a Community Care Inform guide on how technology is used to facilitate and perpetrate child sexual exploitation

By Gillian MacFarlane on October 21, 2024 in Children, Inform Children

Photo: AA Studios/ Adobe Stock

This article presents a few key considerations from Community Care Inform Children’s guide on forms of child sexual exploitation (CSE). The full guide explores peer-on-peer abuse and exploitation, gang-associated exploitation and organised/networked child sexual exploitation. This article will provide information on the use of technology in facilitating child sexual exploitation, such as sextortion, self-generated sexual abuse images and sexting. Inform Children subscribers can access the full guide here.

This guide was written by Kelechi Ukandu, a SILP (significant incident learning process) independent reviewer for child safeguarding practice reviews and independent safeguarding consultant, trainer and supervisor for KU Consultations.

The use of technology

Technology can be used to both directly sexually exploit children and to facilitate offline child sexual exploitation (CSE). Technological developments have provided perpetrators of CSE with further opportunities to access children, network and share information with other perpetrators and develop additional identities to facilitate their exploitation of children (Lapsia, 2024).

Forms of exploitation facilitated by technology include children being forced to:

send or post sexually explicit images of themselves;
take part in sexual activities via webcam or smartphone;
have sexual conversations by text or phone;
receive pictures or videos they do not want to see (Farrer & Co, 2023).

How offenders access CSA material

With the use of technology and fast-growing online platforms, the spreading of child sexual abuse (CSA) material has grown exponentially, placing more children at risk of online sexual abuse and exploitation.

The distressing ease of accessing CSA material online was highlighted by a European study that surveyed over 30,000 active online CSA material offenders. Findings indicated that:

offenders view and share CSA material on popular social media and encrypted messaging apps;
perpetrators seek contact with children on social media, encrypted messaging apps and online games (Lapsia, 2024).

Online child sexual extortion

‘Sextortion’, or online child sexual extortion, is a form of online blackmail that involves the threat of sharing nude or semi-nude images or videos to extort money or force someone to do something against their will (NSPCC, 2024).

Reports of sextortion to the Internet Watch Foundation increased eightfold between 2023 and 2024. The majority of the reports were from boys who were being blackmailed after being coerced into sharing explicit images which criminals threatened to send to their contacts (Internet Watch Foundation, 2024).

Self-generated child sexual abuse images

There has been a reported increase in self-generated child sexual abuse images (CSAM) (OFCOM, 2024a). Although data indicates that this is more prevalent amongst teenagers, we must also consider the fact that there is an increase in the number of children under 10 using social media.

According to OFCOM (2024b), overall use of social media sites or apps among all five to seven-year-olds increased from 2023-24 from 30% to 38% of the group, with WhatsApp (29% to 37%), TikTok (25% to 30%), Instagram (14% to 22%) and Discord (2% to 4%) seeing particular growth.

Other forms of online exploitation

Other ways in which technology can be used to sexually exploit children include:

harassment and bullying through text messaging;
using threats to share images to coerce children and young people into ongoing sexual exploitation;
purchasing mobile phones for children and young people and sharing their numbers among groups or gang members;
random contact with children and young people via social networking sites;
using ‘friends’ lists on networking sites of children and young people to target additional children and young people;
viewing of pornography and discussing it during sexual assaults;
posting images of children and young people with rival gang members to invite sexual assault as punishment;
filming and distributing incidents of rape (College of Policing, 2021; Berelowitz et al 2012).

Sexting

Sexting, defined as ‘the use of technology to share personal sexual content’ (UK Safer Internet Centre), can, for example, lead to content being broadcast to groups using online spaces or shared via messaging systems.

In March 2024, the UK Council for Internet Safety updated the Sharing nudes and semi-nudes: advice for education settings working with children and young people guidance.

The guidelines advise education settings on when they should report incidents of sexting to the police or children’s social care, taking into account factors such as age, use of coercion and whether or not those involved have previously been involved in sexting. The guidance aims to prevent children from being victims and perpetrators of crime and to work closely with schools and families to set in place early intervention (NSPCC, 2024).

Challenges in protecting children

There are several challenges for both professionals and parents and carers in protecting children from harm through technology.

As noted by Palmer (2015), some children do not display obvious indicators that they are being sexually exploited or the vulnerabilities often linked to CSE.

Access to technology has facilitated instant connectivity and accessibility, and perceptions of anonymity and online experiences can act as a disinhibitor where children may say and do things they are unlikely to do offline (Palmer, 2015).

In addition, the time between initial contact and offending behaviour can be extremely short and is characterised by rapid escalation to threats and intimidation (CEOP, 2013).

The Children’s Society outlines certain changes in a child’s behaviour that may indicate online grooming and exploitation. These include:

talking about older or new friends they’ve met online;
talking about gifts or money they have received online;
becoming withdrawn and secretive;
having a new phone or more than one phone;
receiving a large number of calls or messages;
being worried about being away from their phone (Children’s Society, 2024).

Practice point

Consider:

How is your agency and local area addressing the challenges involved in protecting children from harm through technology?
Is there guidance in place that acknowledges the increase in sexual abuse and child sexual exploitation through online platforms and apps, such as the ones mentioned above?

If you have a Community Care Inform Children licence, log on to access the full guide and learn more about forms of child sexual exploitation.