Since the advent of the modern Internet in the 1990s, there has been a rapid rise in prosecutions for Child Exploitation Material (‘CEM’) and related offences. As technology has evolved so has the offending. Digital cameras facilitate the production of CEM, peer-to-peer and other networks enable global distribution, while social media and online gaming platforms provide opportunities to communicate directly with young people. The increasing availability of encryption helps offenders to evade detection and the so-called ‘Darknet’ provides an online forum for offenders. It is an issue of international concern, with applications such as Skype being used to Live Stream the abuse of children, often in developing countries, in exchange for payment.
The seriousness of the conduct has led many countries, including Australia, to enact a broad range of criminal offences aimed at addressing the online sexual exploitation of children. Forensic psychology can play a vital role in helping to understand a diverse range of offenders, allowing policies to be more clearly targeted, and law enforcement resources allocated to where they are most needed. At a practical level, psychological assessments make an important contribution to the sentencing of offenders, and an understanding of effective forms of treatment.
For psychologists practising and/or researching in the area, it is important to understand the complex legal landscape that applies to the online sexual exploitation of children.