tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/child-exploitation-22062/articlesChild exploitation – The Conversation2023-10-17T05:10:34Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2156962023-10-17T05:10:34Z2023-10-17T05:10:34ZAustralia has fined X Australia over child sex abuse material concerns. How severe is the issue – and what happens now?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554186/original/file-20231017-19-ieihj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=35%2C0%2C5955%2C3997&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, Julie Grant, has found X (formerly Twitter) guilty of serious non-compliance to a transparency notice on child sex abuse material. The commissioner has issued X with an infringement notice for A$610,500. </p>
<p>The commissioner <a href="https://www.esafety.gov.au/industry/basic-online-safety-expectations">first issued</a> transparency notices to Google, X (then Twitter), Twitch, TikTok and Discord in February under the Online Safety Act 2021. Under this legislation, the commissioner has powers to require online service providers to report on how they are mitigating <a href="https://www.esafety.gov.au/industry/basic-online-safety-expectations">unlawful or harmful content</a>.</p>
<p>The commissioner determined Google and X <a href="https://media.licdn.com/dms/document/media/D561FAQGtErWNRthoMA/feedshare-document-pdf-analyzed/0/1697400058379?e=1698278400&v=beta&t=SJN-KcFyOjjTiEx0x6rpEFv69qM_ffRgQHiGhe7js4o">did not sufficiently comply</a> with the notices given to them. Google was warned for providing overly generic responses to specific questions, while X’s non-compliance was found to be more serious. </p>
<p>For several key questions, X’s response was blank, incomplete or inaccurate. <a href="https://www.esafety.gov.au/industry/basic-online-safety-expectations/responses-to-transparency-notices">For example</a>, X did not adequately disclose:</p>
<ul>
<li>the time it takes to respond to reports of child sexual exploitation material</li>
<li>the measures in place to detect child sexual exploitation material in live streams</li>
<li>the tools and technologies used to detect this material</li>
<li>the teams and resources used to ensure safety.</li>
</ul>
<h2>How severe is the issue?</h2>
<p>In June, the Stanford Internet Observatory released a crucial report on child sex abuse material. It was the <a href="https://stacks.stanford.edu/file/druid:jd797tp7663/20230606-sio-sg-csam-report.pdf">first quantitative analysis</a> of child sex abuse material on the public sites of the most popular social media platforms. </p>
<p>The researchers’ findings highlighted Instagram and X (then Twitter) are particularly prolific platforms for advertising the sale of self-generated child sex abuse material. </p>
<p>These materials, and the accounts posting them, are often marked by specific recurring features. They may mention particular words or phrases paired with variations on the term “<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/7/23752192/instagrams-recommendation-algorithms-promote-pedophile-networks-investigation">pedo</a>”. Or they might have certain hashtags or emojis in their bios. Using these features, the researchers identified 405 accounts advertising the sale of self-generated child sex abuse material on Instagram, and 128 on Twitter. </p>
<p>They found searching for such content on Instagram may result in an alert of potential child sex abuse material. However, the prompt still presents a clickthrough to “see results anyway”:</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554158/original/file-20231017-15-pdtrjc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554158/original/file-20231017-15-pdtrjc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554158/original/file-20231017-15-pdtrjc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554158/original/file-20231017-15-pdtrjc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554158/original/file-20231017-15-pdtrjc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554158/original/file-20231017-15-pdtrjc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=661&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554158/original/file-20231017-15-pdtrjc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=661&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554158/original/file-20231017-15-pdtrjc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=661&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Instagram presents a prompt that alerts users to potential child sex abuse material, but let’s them click through to see it anyway.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://purl.stanford.edu/jd797tp7663">Thiel, D., DiResta, R., and Stamos, A. (2023). Stanford Digital Repository</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Stanford’s analysis found Instagram’s recommendation algorithms are particularly effective in promoting child sex abuse material once it has been accessed.</p>
<p>Although the researchers focused on publicly available networks and content, they also found some <a href="https://stacks.stanford.edu/file/druid:jd797tp7663/20230606-sio-sg-csam-report.pdf">platforms implicitly allow</a> the trading of child sex abuse material in private channels.</p>
<p>As for X, they found the platform even allowed the public posting of known, automatically identifiable child sex abuse material.</p>
<h2>Why does X have this content?</h2>
<p>The creation and trading of this content is commonly regarded as one of the most harmful abuses of online services. </p>
<p>All major platforms - <a href="https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/sexual-exploitation-policy">including X</a> - have policies that ban child sex abuse material from their public services. Most sites also explicitly prohibit related activities such as posting this content in private chats, and the sexualisation or grooming of children.</p>
<p>Even self-proclaimed free-speech advocate Elon Musk declared that removing <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/twitter-child-sexual-abuse-material/">child exploitation material</a> was the top priority, after he took over the platform late last year.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1595671290421170179"}"></div></p>
<p>Moderating child sex abuse material is challenging work, and can’t be done through user reporting alone. Platforms that allow nudity, <a href="https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/media-policy#">such as X</a>, have a responsibility to distinguish between minors and adults – both in terms of who is depicted in the content and who is sharing it. </p>
<p>They should scrutinise content shared voluntarily by minors, and ideally should also weed out any <a href="https://stacks.stanford.edu/file/druid:jv206yg3793/20230624-sio-cg-csam-report.pdf">AI-generated</a> child sex abuse material.</p>
<p>Musk fired <a href="https://fortune.com/2022/11/13/twitter-elon-musk-fires-outsourced-content-moderators-track-hate-harmful/">hundreds</a> of employees responsible for content moderation after taking over at X. It would seem likely the gutting of X’s trust and safety workforce would have reduced its ability to respond to both the harmful material and the eSafety notices.</p>
<p>Platforms could advance <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/08/04/1024791053/facebook-boots-nyu-disinformation-researchers-off-its-platform-and-critics-cry-f">their moderation mechanisms</a> by transparently sharing data with researchers. Instead, X has <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/twitter-data-api-prices-out-nearly-everyone">made this unaffordable</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-worlds-biggest-dark-web-platform-spreads-millions-of-items-of-child-sex-abuse-material-and-why-its-hard-to-stop-167107">How the world's biggest dark web platform spreads millions of items of child sex abuse material — and why it's hard to stop</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Does the fine go far enough?</h2>
<p>After years of leniency towards social media platforms, governments are now <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/02683962221114408">demanding increased accountability</a> from them for their content, as well as data privacy and child protection matters.</p>
<p>Non-compliance now attracts hefty fines in many jurisdictions. For instance, last year US <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/05/25/twitter-fine-ftc/">federal regulators imposed</a> a US$150 million (A$236.3 million) fine on X to settle claims it had misleadingly used email addresses and phone numbers for targeting advertising.</p>
<p>This year, Ireland’s privacy regulator slapped Meta, Facebook’s parent company, with a €1.2 billion (almost A$2 billion) fine for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/may/22/facebook-fined-mishandling-user-information-ireland-eu-meta">mishandling user information</a>. </p>
<p>This year the Australian Federal Court <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/20m-penalty-for-meta-companies-for-conduct-liable-to-mislead-consumers-about-use-of-their-data">also ordered</a> two subsidiaries of Meta, Facebook Israel and Onavo Inc, to pay A$10 million each for engaging in conduct liable to mislead in breach of Australian consumer law.</p>
<p>The latest fine of A$610,500, though small in comparison, is a blow to X’s reputation given its declining revenue and dwindling advertiser trust due to poor content moderation and the reinstating of banned accounts. </p>
<h2>What happens now?</h2>
<p>X has 28 days to settle the fine. If it doesn’t, eSafety can initiate civil penalty proceedings and bring it to court. Depending on the court’s decision, the cumulative fine could escalate to A$780,000 per day, retroactive to the initial non-compliance in March.</p>
<p>But the fine’s impact extends beyond just financial implications. By spotlighting the issue of child sex abuse material on X, it could increase pressure on advertisers to pull their ads, or empower other governments to follow suit.</p>
<p>Earlier this month, India’s Ministry of Electronics and IT <a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1965078">sent notices</a> to X, YouTube and Telegram, instructing them to remove child sex abuse material for users accessing the sites from India – while threatening heavy fines and penalties for non-compliance. </p>
<p>It seems X is in hot water. To get out, it’ll need to make a 180-degree turn on its approach to moderating content – especially that which harms and exploits minors.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/beginning-of-the-end-how-elon-musks-removal-of-the-block-function-on-x-could-trigger-its-hellish-demise-211897">Beginning of the end: how Elon Musk’s removal of the block function on X could trigger its hellish demise</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498128/original/file-20221129-22-imtnz0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498128/original/file-20221129-22-imtnz0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=115&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498128/original/file-20221129-22-imtnz0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=115&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498128/original/file-20221129-22-imtnz0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=115&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498128/original/file-20221129-22-imtnz0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=144&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498128/original/file-20221129-22-imtnz0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=144&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498128/original/file-20221129-22-imtnz0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=144&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>The Conversation is commissioning articles by academics across the world who are researching how society is being shaped by our digital interactions with each other. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/social-media-and-society-125586">Read more here</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215696/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marten Risius is the recipient of an Australian Research Council Australian Discovery Early Career Award (project number DE220101597) funded by the Australian Government.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stan Karanasios is a member of the Association for Information Systems. In recent years he has received funding from the International Telecommunications Union and the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity.</span></em></p>The platform formerly known as Twitter faces a A$610,500 penalty from the eSafety Commissioner.Marten Risius, Senior Lecturer in Business Information Systems, The University of QueenslandStan Karanasios, Associate Professor, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1996462023-03-01T06:14:12Z2023-03-01T06:14:12ZMigrant children in the UK are going missing from care – here’s how to protect them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511973/original/file-20230223-28-n7f09l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C7360%2C4902&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/childrens-hands-on-misted-window-775920718">Amir Bajric/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Separated children who <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jan/21/they-just-vanish-whistleblowers-met-by-wall-of-complacency-over-missing-migrant-children">arrive alone in the UK</a> are being placed in hotels by the Home Office – and many of them are then <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2023/feb/03/the-children-going-missing-from-home-office-hotels-podcast">going missing</a>. </p>
<p>On January 24 2023, the immigration minister announced that <a href="https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-200-unaccompanied-asylum-seeking-children-still-missing-from-uk-hotels-what-the-government-has-said-explained">200 unaccompanied children</a> were missing from UK hotels. These children are at significant risk of <a href="https://www.ecpat.org.uk/news/charities-call-for-action-on-children-missing-in-hotels#:%7E:text=Over%20100%20charities%20call%20for%20action%20on%20children,hotels%2C%20where%20they%20could%20be%20targeted%20by%20criminals">trafficking and exploitation</a>. To stop this happening, those involved in these children’s care should treat them like the children they are – and listen to what they need to feel safe.</p>
<p>Trafficking refers to when somebody has control of a child and moves, exchanges or transports them specifically to exploit them. They may be exploited before they reached the UK or upon arrival, and in a multitude of ways.</p>
<p>They may be forced to perform labour, or they might be sexually exploited. They might be placed in domestic servitude, as Olympian <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62123886">Mo Farah</a> was when he first arrived in the UK. Children may be used to grow or carry drugs. Sometimes there are multiple forms of exploitation happening at the same time. </p>
<h2>Lack of protection</h2>
<p>Children who arrive in the UK should be safeguarded through the existing child protection system, not through parallel systems established outside existing protection processes. Placing children in unregulated hotels removes essential oversight and safeguarding of these children. This “temporary” practice has been going on <a href="https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/uk-news/959506/why-the-home-office-is-using-hotels-to-house-child-asylum-seekers">since July 2021</a>.</p>
<p>Trafficked children are one of the groups most at risk of going missing in the UK. <a href="https://www.ecpat.org.uk/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=bb993f93-9445-4f75-bc1e-d051d76ab668">Nearly one-third</a> of children who were identified or suspected of being trafficked went missing from local authority care in 2020 – 378 children. We have also known for years that children who go missing from care are <a href="https://letterfromsanta.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/research-reports/breaking-wall-silence-report.pdf">at risk of exploitation</a>. </p>
<p>In a 2009 report, colleagues and I found that children and young people often went missing when they arrived in the country and again after entering local authority care. We <a href="https://letterfromsanta.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/research-reports/breaking-wall-silence-report.pdf">made a series of clear recommendations around this</a>. Reports from <a href="https://www.ecpat.org.uk/heading-back-to-harm-a-study-on-trafficked-and-unaccompanied-children-going-missing-from-care-in-the-uk">2016</a> and <a href="https://www.ecpat.org.uk/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=bb993f93-9445-4f75-bc1e-d051d76ab668">2022</a> also document children going missing from local authority care.</p>
<p>Helping these children starts with making them feel safe, so that they are comfortable telling people that they are victims of abuse or exploitation – and this can take time. But a key problem for children who arrive in the UK for the purposes of trafficking is that their needs are often ignored. Their cases are looked at as <a href="https://www.youthandpolicy.org/y-and-p-archive/issue-104/">immigration</a> or <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bjc/article/59/2/481/5129105">criminal justice</a> cases rather than through a child protection lens.</p>
<h2>Feeling safe</h2>
<p>I recently conducted research in partnership with children’s rights charity <a href="https://www.ecpat.org.uk/">ECPAT UK</a>. We worked with 31 young people in England and Scotland who had been trafficked into the UK. <a href="https://www.shu.ac.uk/helena-kennedy-centre-international-justice/research-and-projects/all-projects/stable-futures">We asked them</a> what would improve their lives, now and in the future. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Boy smiling in classroom" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511981/original/file-20230223-25-7m6a9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511981/original/file-20230223-25-7m6a9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511981/original/file-20230223-25-7m6a9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511981/original/file-20230223-25-7m6a9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511981/original/file-20230223-25-7m6a9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511981/original/file-20230223-25-7m6a9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511981/original/file-20230223-25-7m6a9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Children who have been trafficked deserve to feel safe.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/portrait-smiling-hispanic-boy-looking-camera-1104967028">Ground Picture/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The young people told us that the systems and processes they found themselves in when they arrived in the UK were obstacles to reaching positive outcomes. These included the lack of a secure immigration status and the experience of waiting for legal papers over long periods. One young person awaiting a decision said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I don’t have paper. Not free. Still in prison.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Some had experienced discrimination, or were not believed by professionals. One young person said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I used to go every single day to the social work office and talking to … the manager of the social workers. That’s what he told me, “Why don’t you go back to your country?” That’s what he say.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The young people told us that they wanted to feel safe. They said that physical safety would come from having <a href="https://uobrep.openrepository.com/bitstream/handle/10547/315134/Safe-Accommodation-for-Sexually-Exploited-and-Trafficked-Young-People-Dr-Lucie-Shuker.pdf">a safe home</a> and place to live, such as having accommodation appropriate for their age or with trained foster carers: certainly not being alone in a hotel. As one young person said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Protection for every young people from outside the UK is the first thing needed. Protection could be making him safe, for example, where to sleep and stay, and to get education … healthcare … friendships, I mean for protection.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>We found that young people with <a href="https://www.barnardos.org.uk/what-we-do/services/independent-guardian-service">independent guardians</a> – designated people who provide regular support to children who have been trafficked – felt listened to and heard, leading to this feeling of safety.</p>
<p>We also found that to improve the lives of these young people, the approach taken by the government and social care must be centred around the child, with an understanding of what they may have been through in the past. Children have rights – to be heard, to participate, to be able to develop their lives and make contributions to society. These principles should inform the work of professionals they meet. As another young person said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>These young people, they’re going to be someone in the future and they’re going to give back all that help that they got from this government and it’s very important for young people and support workers to know all of this.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>For the first time, we know what young people would need to see for positive changes to happen in their lives. We have used this research to develop a “<a href="https://www.ecpat.org.uk/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=9b159cee-80fb-4add-8460-2135889ae6a3">Positive Outcomes Framework</a>”. This includes 25 outcomes for the young person, such as “I can achieve and have dreams” or “I feel safe”. </p>
<p>The framework also includes 86 indicators which describe how these aims can be achieved. These include, for instance, “Young people can undertake vocational training and English classes simultaneously” or “Children report knowing where to go when they don’t feel safe and who to turn to”. </p>
<p>These young people should be seen as the young people and children that they are, and treated equally to other children in the UK. Our next step is to consider how this framework can be used in practice. This is difficult and complex territory but, if we are serious about the safety and wellbeing of these young people, recognising their rights and needs is a vital first step.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199646/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patricia Hynes received funding for this research from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), through the Modern Slavery Policy and Evidence Centre (MSPEC). </span></em></p>Children who arrive alone in the UK should be treated equally to other children.Patricia Hynes, Professor of Social Justice, Sheffield Hallam UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1983942023-02-08T21:03:53Z2023-02-08T21:03:53ZTo prevent child sexual abuse, we need to change our thinking — and stop exploitation before it happens<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508946/original/file-20230208-16-ag4mjm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3498%2C2534&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Talking for Change is a government-funded national program that aims to prevent child sexual abuse. It provides an anonymous national helpline and treatment options for anyone concerned about their attraction to children.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every year, thousands of children are victims of sexual abuse in Canada. The impacts of abuse can be long-lasting, with <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105%2Fajph.91.5.753">psychological</a> and physical consequences for victims, and significant <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.02.020">economic impacts</a> on our society. </p>
<p>Recent research has shown a troubling rise in online sexual offences and abuse against children in Canada, particularly during the pandemic.</p>
<p>In a 2022 report, Statistics Canada found the number of online sexual offences against children reported to police had tripled compared to the previous six-year period. Statistics Canada compiled <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2022001/article/00008-eng.htm">research from 2014</a> — the year when Canadian cybercrime data first began to be compiled nationwide — to 2020.</p>
<p>The numbers paint a worrisome picture. According to the research, police-reported incidents of online child sexual exploitation and abuse climbed to 9,441 in 2020 from 3,080 incidents in 2014 — a three-fold increase.</p>
<p>Statistics Canada reports that in 2020, the first year of the pandemic, the rate of online child sexual abuse material (CSAM) reported to police grew to 101 incidents per 100,000 population — a 35 per cent increase from 2019. </p>
<p>The rate of online sexual offences against children, which include luring a child and distributing images without consent, also grew. In 2020 there were 30 incidents per 100,000 population, a 10 per cent increase over the previous year.</p>
<h2>The urgent need for prevention</h2>
<p>But we know these numbers don’t even come close to telling the full story. Sadly, many experiences of childhood sexual abuse go unreported. Around <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/85-002-x/2017001/article/14698-eng.pdf?st=-Zyf7J47">93 per cent of childhood sexual and physical abuse experiences are not reported</a> to the police or child protective services for a host of reasons, as Statistics Canada acknowledges in its study.</p>
<p>The increase in reported abuse and exploitation online is likely only the tip of the iceberg. But these rising incidence numbers underscore the dire need to do more to prevent child sexual abuse in Canada. It is critical that we take action to intervene early, providing individuals at risk for offending with support through an anonymous helpline, as well as therapy, to prevent abuse.</p>
<p>It also underscores that traditional ways of stopping child sexual abuse may not be enough to prevent child sexual abuse from happening.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1579852045473153026"}"></div></p>
<p>Historically in Canada, counselling programs for individuals who are concerned about their sexual interest in children are only made available <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/889043/canada-home-to-advanced-sex-offender-treatment-programs/">after abuse has already happened</a>. People who have committed a sexual offence <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854809338545">can change their behaviour</a>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.4073/csr.2017.8">Appropriate treatment</a> is effective at reducing sexual re-offending, and there are ways to make treatment as effective as possible.</p>
<p>But intervening after a child is hurt is intervening too late, especially when prevention is possible.</p>
<h2>Talking for Change</h2>
<p>To make a difference in preventing child sexual abuse in Canada, it’s essential to acknowledge that child sexual abuse is a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/003335491412900303">public health problem</a> that requires a public health solution, including various prevention strategies.</p>
<p>I recently led the development of a program focused on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2019.1703232">stopping child sexual abuse before it happens</a>. <a href="https://talkingforchange.ca/">Talking for Change</a>, launched in August 2021 at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, is the first government-funded national program that provides treatment options and anonymous support to youth and adults who are concerned about their sexual interest in children, their risk to sexually abuse a child or their use of child sexual abuse material.</p>
<p>With the support of a team of psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers and academics, the program provides an anonymous national helpline for anyone concerned about their attraction to children or who are worried about engaging in online or offline offending involving a child. </p>
<p>Talking for Change also provides therapy directly and leverages an extensive referral network to offer suggestions for fee-for-service therapy outside the jurisdictions where coverage is provided. The program’s free therapy service is provided only to people who do not have current legal involvement for a sexual offence, who want to remain offence-free and who are ready to take the next step in identifying themselves to receive service. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Close-up rear view of young man in streaming on videocall on a tablet" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508947/original/file-20230208-31-izs242.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508947/original/file-20230208-31-izs242.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508947/original/file-20230208-31-izs242.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508947/original/file-20230208-31-izs242.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508947/original/file-20230208-31-izs242.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508947/original/file-20230208-31-izs242.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508947/original/file-20230208-31-izs242.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The free therapy service provided by Talking for Change is offered only for people who do not have current legal involvement for a sexual offence, who want to remain offence-free and who are ready to take the next step in identifying themselves to receive service.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While the helpline is national, the (often virtual) therapy program is currently available in Ontario, Atlantic Canada, Québec, Nunavut and Yukon, with plans to expand to additional provinces. </p>
<p>Over the past 18 months, our team has received more than 250 contacts from individuals seeking counselling or information to prevent child sexual abuse. We provided them with a safe space to talk. We listened and communicated, <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037/sah0000154">without judgment or stigma</a>. We helped them realize they are not alone and that they are not doomed or destined to offend. </p>
<p>Most importantly, we developed strategies to prevent them from hurting anyone.</p>
<h2>International prevention efforts</h2>
<p>Talking for Change is not the only prevention program. In the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States, the program <a href="https://www.stopitnow.org/">Stop it Now!</a> provides similar prevention through an anonymous helpline. </p>
<p>In Germany, the <a href="https://www.troubled-desire.com/">Troubled Desire</a> program aims to provide prevention techniques through self-guided digital intervention. Early data indicates that prevention programs are a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-022-01375-8">promising technique to reduce child sexual abuse</a>.</p>
<p>In fact, an <a href="https://www.stopitnow.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/stop_it_now_evaluation_summary.pdf">assessment study of the United Kingdom’s “Stop it Now!”</a> program showed that there is a clear demand for confidential helplines providing information, advice, support and guidance to people concerned about preventing child sexual abuse. </p>
<p>This includes people concerned about their own thoughts or actions as well as individuals concerned about a child or adult’s behaviour or a child who may be at risk. </p>
<p>The study found that: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“the helplines can provide cost effective, quality advice and support to protect children directly, and to prompt behaviour change in adults and strengthen protective factors which can reduce the risk of offending.”</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Breaking the silence</h2>
<p>Child sexual abuse is such a dark and taboo subject that it may be difficult for many people to extend the focus beyond the victims and try to understand what leads someone to offend against a child or to use child sexual abuse material. </p>
<p>People may prefer not to think about it, and find it easier to avoid difficult conversations. Sadly that means the problem may continue to grow worse in the silence.</p>
<p>The people we counsel in the Talking for Change program often tell us that they wish they didn’t have these feelings or urges. And they tell us that they do not want to hurt anyone, and that in many cases they want to help prevent child abuse in Canada.</p>
<p>Talking for Change has only begun to scratch the surface of this problem. But we’re confident, based on the impact we’ve made in our first year, that prevention is not only possible, it’s happening.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198394/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ainslie Heasman works for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). </span></em></p>There is a dire need to prevent child sexual abuse in Canada. It is critical to intervene early, and provide those at risk for offending with support through an anonymous helpline, as well as therapy.Ainslie Heasman, Clinical Forensic Psychologist, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ontario Tech UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1931452022-11-29T12:00:52Z2022-11-29T12:00:52ZChild sexual abuse review: how research can help to tackle growing online abuse<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492535/original/file-20221031-14-pp4l6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Each time abuse material is shared, the victim is revictimised.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/digital-lifestyle-blog-writer-business-person-407179981">Chinnapong | Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the seven years since the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/iicsa-report-of-the-independent-inquiry-into-child-sexual-abuse">Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse</a> launched in 2015, it has held more than 300 days of public hearings, processed over 2 million pages of evidence, heard from over 700 witnesses, and engaged with over 7,000 victims and survivors. </p>
<p>One of the most pressing issues the inquiry <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/oct/20/what-is-the-child-sexual-abuse-inquiry-and-why-did-it-take-seven-years">has raised</a> is that of <a href="https://theconversation.com/eu-law-would-require-big-tech-to-do-more-to-combat-child-sexual-abuse-but-a-key-question-remains-how-183512">online-facilitated child sexual abuse</a>. The use of hidden services to distribute online child sexual abuse material globally increased <a href="https://www.iwf.org.uk">by 155%</a> between 2019 and 2020. </p>
<p>In 2021 alone, <a href="https://inhope.org/EN">Inhope</a> – an organisation that supports 50 hotlines in 46 countries around the world to remove child sexual abuse material from the internet – handled almost 1 million URLs featuring suspected child sexual abuse and exploitation. And the scope and scale of online child sexual abuse show no sign of abating. Of the images and videos reviewed by the Inhope hotlines in 2021, 82% had not seen before. </p>
<h2>A growing threat</h2>
<p>In the wake of the scandals involving <a href="https://theconversation.com/jimmy-savile-how-the-netflix-documentary-fails-to-address-the-role-institutions-play-in-abuse-181383">Jimmy Savile</a>, Rolf Harris and other celebrities, the inquiry was commissioned by the UK government in 2015, to scrutinise the extent to which state and non-state institutions had failed to protect children.</p>
<p>On October 20 2022, this inquiry <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/oct/20/child-sexual-abuse-inquiry-final-report-20-actions-for-change">published</a> its <a href="https://www.iicsa.org.uk/final-report">final report</a>. Underlining that child protection should be made a national priority, its report puts forward 20 recommendations, designed to make England and Wales places where children can grow up safely and thrive. These both take in lessons from the past and seek to address evolving challenges, of which online sexual abuse is the most urgent.</p>
<p>Research with survivors <a href="https://www.protectchildren.ca/en/resources-research/survivors-survey-results/">shows</a> that when documentation of their abuse is shared online, it affects them differently than the abuse they originally suffered. The images are permanent and the sharing never ends. Online distribution of this kind of material thus results in children being re-victimised each time it is viewed. </p>
<p>The sheer scale of offending in this sphere, and the opportunities afforded to offenders to hide their activities with end-to-end encryption, means that the deck is heavily stacked against a law-enforcement response alone. The inquiry has asserted as much. </p>
<p>The report thus focuses attention on the responsibility of platform providers. It recommends that it become mandatory for all search service and user-to-user service providers <a href="https://theconversation.com/apple-can-scan-your-photos-for-child-abuse-and-still-protect-your-privacy-if-the-company-keeps-its-promises-165785">to screen any material</a> at the point where it is uploaded. The hope is that this will prevent any child-abuse material from ever getting into the public domain. </p>
<p>This recommendation, of course, only addresses the supply side of the equation. What is also needed is an approach that actively reduces the demand for child sexual abuse material. </p>
<p>Research has a key role to play here. By looking for patterns and insight into the behaviour of people who intend to abuse children, as the collaboration between the <a href="https://childrescuecoalition.org">Child Rescue Coalition</a> non-profit and the <a href="https://aru.ac.uk/policing-institute">Policing Institute for the Eastern Region</a> is doing, academics can help with the development of tools to support law-enforcement investigations. </p>
<p>Research can also help to design interventions for people who share and consume this abuse material. The <a href="https://www.suojellaanlapsia.fi/en/post/csam-users-in-the-dark-web-protecting-children-through-prevention">Redirection survey (2021)</a> by the Helsinki-based non-profit, Suojellaan Lapsia (meaning “Protect Children”), canvased the views of over 8,000 people on the dark web who accessed abuse images. This survey found that only 13% had sought help but that 50% wanted to stop and 62% had tried to stop but failed. These findings have helped with the development of a self-help programme for people who search for, view, and distribute child sexual abuse material. </p>
<p>A 2021 threat assessment by the We Protect Global Alliance organisation <a href="https://www.weprotect.org/global-threat-assessment-21/">stated</a> that online child sexual abuse represents “one of the most urgent and defining issues of our generation”. Finding ways to tackle the devastating harm caused by this type of abuse, at the root, is crucial. For a sustainable, long-term prevention strategy to make any kind of headway, preventing harm in the first place needs to be prioritised.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193145/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samantha Lundrigan receives funding from The Dawes Trust</span></em></p>Online child sexual abuse has been described as one of the most urgent and defining issues we face. Tackling it at the root is imperative.Samantha Lundrigan, Professor of Investigative Psychology and Public Protection, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1731112021-12-13T13:18:37Z2021-12-13T13:18:37ZIs your Christmas list supporting modern slavery? The dilemma of shopping ethically this festive season<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436904/original/file-20211210-19-1jnn98f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C46%2C5230%2C3437&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/gift-boxes-large-red-bow-against-721090267">ESstock / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>With Christmas coming soon and last-minute shopping underway, it is worth questioning the origin of some of our favourite holiday and gift items. It is highly likely that some of the gifts under your tree – including
<a href="https://campaign.worldvision.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Forced-and-child-labour-in-the-cotton-industry-fact-sheet.pdf">clothing</a>, <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/our-work/child-forced-labor-trafficking/child-labor-cocoa">chocolate</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/oct/12/phone-misery-children-congo-cobalt-mines-drc">mobile phones</a> – will have been made by children working in exploitative or hazardous conditions of modern slavery.</p>
<p>It is difficult to tell what items from which businesses might be affected. This is because child exploitation usually takes place a long way down the supply chain (for example, in the cobalt mine or cocoa farm) and, unless brought to light through an investigation or exposé, is largely invisible.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.hull.ac.uk/work-with-us/research/institutes/wilberforce-institute/our-people">Our team</a> at the University of Hull’s <a href="https://www.hull.ac.uk/work-with-us/research/institutes/wilberforce-institute/wilberforce-institute">Wilberforce Institute</a> is working to uncover modern slavery practices around the world, and to improve how governments, law enforcement agencies, businesses and consumers combat child labour exploitation. </p>
<p>We developed a systemic model called the <a href="https://www.craigbarlow.co.uk/_webedit/uploaded-files/All%20Files/Shanna%27s%20Folder/Barlow%20et%20al%20Circles%20of%20Analysis%202021.pdf">circles of analysis</a> for investigating, protecting and prosecuting those involved in child criminal exploitation. This multi-agency framework explores interactions between child, perpetrator and the environment – such as by uniting law enforcement and child protection services – to understand when and why child criminal exploitation takes place.</p>
<h2>What is modern slavery?</h2>
<p>There are several categories of modern slavery and exploitation affecting millions of people worldwide:</p>
<p><strong>Modern slavery:</strong> the illegal exploitation of people for personal or commercial gain. Examples include human trafficking, forced labour, forced marriage and debt bondage.</p>
<p><strong>Child labour exploitation:</strong> when a child is forced to work under threat of punishment, usually with little or no payment.</p>
<p><strong>Child trafficking:</strong> the relocation of a child for the purposes of exploitation.</p>
<p><strong>Child sexual exploitation:</strong> a form of exploitation where children are forced into sex work for the profit of others.</p>
<p><strong>Child criminal exploitation:</strong> a form of exploitation where children are forced to commit crimes for the profit of others.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/lang--en/index.htm">International Labour Organisation</a>, a UN agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards, there are more than 40 million people in modern slavery across the globe, a quarter of whom are children. There are also nearly 25 million people trapped in forced labour.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---ipec/documents/publication/wcms_800278.pdf">160 million children</a> are in child labour, and 79 million of these working in hazardous conditions. Nearly 3 million children are subject to <a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_575479.pdf">forced labour</a>.</p>
<h2>What can we do about it?</h2>
<p>Most advice will tell you to not buy cheap or “fast fashion” items that are more likely to have been made in sweatshops. You can also search a company’s website for a modern slavery statement that supposedly guarantees their <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/publish-an-annual-modern-slavery-statement">supply chains are slavery free</a>. Or you can study up on business policies and practices so you can satisfy yourself you’re shopping ethically. </p>
<p>All of the above are good suggestions, but they’re not very practical due to three key conflicts: time, budget and profit. Christmas is a very busy time of year. While we might want to research businesses so we can shop ethically, the reality is we rarely have the time. Christmas is also a very expensive time of year, and for many, shopping ethically may not be financially possible. “Ethical” items are often pricier than items that may have been the product of child labour exploitation. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Close up of a man biting into a large bar of chocolate." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436926/original/file-20211210-83493-1728y8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436926/original/file-20211210-83493-1728y8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436926/original/file-20211210-83493-1728y8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436926/original/file-20211210-83493-1728y8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436926/original/file-20211210-83493-1728y8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436926/original/file-20211210-83493-1728y8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436926/original/file-20211210-83493-1728y8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Do your research: the chocolate bar you’re about to enjoy could be a product of child labour.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/closeup-curly-hair-happy-bearded-man-431663104">BublikHaus / Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Finally, Christmas is a very lucrative time of year for businesses – and cheap labour is one way to make money. We’ve seen examples of this in the UK with regards to minimum wage and zero hours <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-57157606">contracts</a>, and a <a href="https://modernslaverypec.org/resources/tisc-effectiveness">recent report</a> shows that the effectiveness of modern slavery statements is questionable because they have not delivered meaningful changes in corporate behaviour.</p>
<p>Instead, we suggest an easy way to take action and pressure businesses on the topic of modern slavery. While sitting in front of your telly in your Christmas jumper, drinking wine, eating chocolates and surfing the web, simply use your phone to do the following for the businesses you bought presents from:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Online search for: [company name] child exploitation / modern slavery / forced labour.</p></li>
<li><p>Go to the company website and send this message: “As one of your customers, can you reassure me that you are 100% certain your products are free of child labour exploitation / modern slavery?”</p></li>
<li><p>Or, for a bit more detail, try this: “As one of your customers, how do you audit your supply chain -– and can you provide evidence that you’re 100% free of child labour exploitation / modern slavery?”</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Businesses monitor how their website and mobile apps are searched, visited and used. If enough of us take a moment to search or ask questions about child labour exploitation, businesses will prioritise it accordingly.</p>
<p>Shopping affordably and ethically can be a difficult balance to navigate, but by learning more about child exploitation and taking this small action, we can all play a part in a happier Christmas for all.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173111/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Green has received funding from the European Commission, British Academy and Leverhulme.
Simon Green is the Independent Chair of the Ethics and Scrutiny Board for the Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner.</span></em></p>Actions you can take to ensure modern slavery and child exploitation are not a part of your Christmas.Simon Green, Professor of Criminology & Victimology, University of HullLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1657852021-08-10T18:17:26Z2021-08-10T18:17:26ZApple can scan your photos for child abuse and still protect your privacy – if the company keeps its promises<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415327/original/file-20210809-13-86rvyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4158%2C2763&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">If you have an Apple device and upload photos to iCloud, the company will use some clever math to sniff them for instances of child abuse – without actually looking at the photos.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/YF66WGnybqQ">Vinicius "amnx" Amano/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The proliferation of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/09/28/us/child-sex-abuse.html">child sexual abuse material</a> on the internet is harrowing and sobering. Technology companies send <a href="https://www.missingkids.org/content/dam/missingkids/gethelp/2020-reports-by-esp.pdf">tens of millions of reports per year</a> of these images to the nonprofit <a href="https://www.missingkids.org/theissues/csam">National Center for Missing and Exploited Children</a>. </p>
<p>The way companies that provide cloud storage for your images usually detect child abuse material leaves you vulnerable to privacy violations by the companies – and hackers who break into their computers. On Aug. 5, 2021, Apple <a href="https://www.apple.com/child-safety/">announced a new way to detect this material</a> that promises to better protect your privacy.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=lneZSfIAAAAJ">computer scientist</a> who studies cryptography, I can explain how Apple’s system works, why it’s an improvement, and why Apple needs to do more.</p>
<h2>Who holds the key?</h2>
<p>Digital files can be protected in a sort of virtual lockbox via encryption, which garbles a file so that it can be revealed, or decrypted, only by someone holding a secret key. Encryption is one of the best tools for protecting personal information as it traverses the internet.</p>
<p>Can a cloud service provider detect child abuse material if the photos are garbled using encryption? It depends on who holds the secret key.</p>
<p>Many cloud providers, including Apple, keep a copy of the secret key so they can assist you in <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201487">data recovery</a> if you forget your password. With the key, <a href="https://www.macobserver.com/analysis/apple-scans-uploaded-content/">the provider can also match</a> photos stored on the cloud against known child abuse images held by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.</p>
<p>But this convenience comes at a big cost. A cloud provider that stores secret keys might <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5gk73/google-fired-dozens-for-data-misuse">abuse its access</a> <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/07/12/exclusive-extract-facebooks-engineers-spied-women/">to your data</a> or fall prey to a <a href="https://epic.org/privacy/data-breach/equifax/">data breach</a>.</p>
<p>A better approach to online safety is <a href="https://ssd.eff.org/en/glossary/end-end-encryption">end-to-end encryption</a>, in which the secret key is stored only on your own computer, phone or tablet. In this case, the provider cannot decrypt your photos. Apple’s answer to checking for child abuse material that’s protected by end-to-end encryption is a new procedure in which the cloud service provider, meaning Apple, and your device perform the image matching together.</p>
<h2>Spotting evidence without looking at it</h2>
<p>Though that might sound like magic, with modern cryptography it’s actually possible to work with data that you cannot see. I have contributed to projects that use cryptography to <a href="https://thebwwc.org/">measure the gender wage gap</a> <a href="https://www.usenix.org/system/files/soups2019-qin.pdf">without learning anyone’s salary</a>, and to <a href="https://www.mycallisto.org/">detect repeat offenders of sexual assault</a> <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ff5d891409193661a0718c0/t/604134db3f35b3501dabfa4a/1614886107693/callisto-cryptographic-approach.pdf">without reading any victim’s report</a>. And there are <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NT_vdxRC8YEPlkQa2KHw22ai9IshyU73/view">many more examples</a> of companies and governments using cryptographically protected computing to provide services while safeguarding the underlying data.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.apple.com/child-safety/pdf/Apple_PSI_System_Security_Protocol_and_Analysis.pdf">Apple’s proposed image matching</a> on iCloud Photos uses cryptographically protected computing to scan photos without seeing them. It’s based on a tool called <a href="https://blog.openmined.org/private-set-intersection/">private set intersection</a> that has been studied by cryptographers since the 1980s. This tool allows two people to discover files that they have in common while hiding the rest.</p>
<p>Here’s how the image matching works. Apple distributes to everyone’s iPhone, iPad and Mac a database containing indecipherable encodings of known child abuse images. For each photo that you upload to iCloud, your device <a href="https://www.apple.com/child-safety/pdf/Expanded_Protections_for_Children_Technology_Summary.pdf">applies a digital fingerprint</a>, called NeuralHash. The fingerprinting works even if someone makes small changes in a photo. Your device then creates a voucher for your photo that your device can’t understand, but that tells the server whether the uploaded photo matches child abuse material in the database.</p>
<p>If enough vouchers from a device indicate matches to known child abuse images, the server learns the secret keys to decrypt all of the matching photos – but not the keys for other photos. Otherwise, the server cannot view any of your photos.</p>
<p>Having this matching procedure take place on your device can be better for your privacy than the previous methods, in which the matching takes place on a server – if it’s deployed properly. But that’s a big caveat.</p>
<h2>Figuring out what could go wrong</h2>
<p>There’s a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLMDSjCzEx8">line in the movie “Apollo 13”</a> in which Gene Kranz, played by Ed Harris, proclaims, “I don’t care what anything was designed to do. I care about what it can do!” Apple’s phone scanning technology is designed to protect privacy. Computer security and tech policy experts are trained to discover ways that a technology can be used, misused and abused, regardless of its creator’s intent. However, Apple’s announcement <a href="https://twitter.com/mattblaze/status/1423474134202437637">lacks information to analyze essential components</a>, so it is not possible to evaluate the safety of its new system.</p>
<p>Security researchers need to see Apple’s code to validate that the device-assisted matching software is faithful to the design and doesn’t introduce errors. Researchers also must test whether it’s possible to fool Apple’s NeuralHash algorithm into changing fingerprints by <a href="https://twitter.com/yvesalexandre/status/1423293697152610314">making imperceptible changes to a photo</a>.</p>
<p>It’s also important for Apple to develop an auditing policy to hold the company accountable for matching only child abuse images. The threat of mission creep was a risk even with server-based matching. The good news is that matching devices offers new opportunities to audit Apple’s actions because the encoded database binds Apple to a specific image set. Apple should allow everyone to check that they’ve received the same encoded database and third-party auditors to validate the images contained in this set. These public accountability goals <a href="https://www.bu.edu/riscs/2021/08/10/apple-csam/">can be achieved using cryptography</a>.</p>
<p>Apple’s proposed image-matching technology has the potential to improve digital privacy and child safety, especially if Apple follows this move by <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-fbi-icloud-exclusive/exclusive-apple-dropped-plan-for-encrypting-backups-after-fbi-complained-sources-idUSKBN1ZK1CT">giving iCloud end-to-end encryption</a>. But no technology on its own can fully answer complex social problems. All options for how to use encryption and image scanning have <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/alexstamos/status/1424054544556646407">delicate, nuanced effects</a> on society.</p>
<p>These delicate questions require time and space to reason through potential consequences of even well-intentioned actions before deploying them, through <a href="https://cyber.fsi.stanford.edu/io/content/e2ee-workshops">dialogue</a> with affected groups and researchers with a wide variety of backgrounds. I urge Apple to join this dialogue so that the research community can collectively improve the safety and accountability of this new technology.</p>
<p>[<em>The Conversation’s science, health and technology editors pick their favorite stories.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/science-editors-picks-71/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=science-favorite">Weekly on Wednesdays</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165785/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mayank Varia receives research grant funding from the National Science Foundation and DARPA. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Government.</span></em></p>Apple will scan all photos uploaded to the cloud for child sexual abuse without actually looking at the photos. Privacy experts are concerned by the lack of public accountability.Mayank Varia, Research Associate Professor of Computer Science, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1653232021-08-02T20:12:16Z2021-08-02T20:12:16ZInstagram’s privacy updates for kids are positive. But plans for an under-13s app means profits still take precedence<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414095/original/file-20210802-13-1j1w9w7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=67%2C40%2C4425%2C2950&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Facebook <a href="https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/giving-young-people-a-safer-more-private-experience">recently announced</a> significant changes to Instagram for users aged under 16. New accounts will be private by default, and advertisers will be limited in how they can reach young people. </p>
<p>The new changes are long overdue and welcome. But Facebook’s commitment to childrens’ safety is still in question as it continues to develop a separate version of Instagram for kids aged under 13. </p>
<p>The company received <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/shortcuts/2021/may/11/instagram-for-kids-the-social-media-site-no-one-asked-for">significant backlash</a> after the initial announcement in May. In fact, more than 40 US Attorneys General who usually support big tech <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/10/attorneys-general-ask-facebook-to-abandon-instagram-for-kids-plans.html">banded together</a> to ask Facebook to stop building the under-13s version of Instagram, citing privacy and health concerns.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-social-media-damaging-to-children-and-teens-we-asked-five-experts-126499">Is social media damaging to children and teens? We asked five experts</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Privacy and advertising</h2>
<p>Online default settings matter. They set expectations for how we should behave online, and many of us <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.07.001">will never shift away</a> from this by changing our default settings. </p>
<p>Adult accounts on Instagram are public by default. Facebook’s shift to making under-16 accounts private by default means these users will need to actively change their settings if they want a public profile. Existing under-16 users with public accounts will also get a prompt asking if they want to make their account private.</p>
<p>These changes normalise privacy and will encourage young users to focus their interactions more on their circles of friends and followers they approve. Such a change could go a long way in helping young people navigate online privacy.</p>
<p>Facebook has also limited the ways in which advertisers can target Instagram users under age 18 (or older in some countries). Instead of targeting specific users based on their interests gleaned via data collection, advertisers can now only broadly reach young people by focusing ads in terms of age, gender and location. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-companies-learn-what-children-secretly-want-63178">How companies learn what children secretly want</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This change follows <a href="https://au.reset.tech/uploads/resettechaustralia_profiling-children-for-advertising-1.pdf">recently publicised research</a> that showed Facebook was allowing advertisers to target young users with risky interests — such as smoking, vaping, alcohol, gambling and extreme weight loss — with age-inappropriate ads.</p>
<p>This is particularly worrying, given Facebook’s <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2021/07/age-verification/">admission</a> there is “no foolproof way to stop people from misrepresenting their age” when joining Instagram or Facebook. The apps ask for date of birth during sign-up, but have no way of verifying responses. Any child who knows basic arithmetic can work out how to bypass this gateway.</p>
<p>Of course, Facebook’s new changes do not stop Facebook itself from collecting young users’ data. And when an Instagram user becomes a legal adult, all of their data collected up to that point will then likely inform an incredibly detailed profile which will be available to facilitate Facebook’s main business model: extremely targeted advertising.</p>
<h2>Deploying Instagram’s top dad</h2>
<p>Facebook has been highly strategic in how it released news of its recent changes for young Instagram users. In contrast with Facebook’s chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, Instagram’s head <a href="https://www.instagram.com/mosseri/">Adam Mosseri</a> has turned his status as a parent into a significant element of his public persona. </p>
<p>Since Mosseri <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Instagram-Visual-Social-Media-Cultures/dp/1509534393">took over</a> after Instagram’s creators left Facebook in 2018, his profile has consistently emphasised he has three young sons, his curated Instagram stories include #dadlife and Lego, and he often signs off Q&A sessions on Instagram by mentioning he needs to spend time with his kids.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Adam Mosseri's Instagram Profile" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413928/original/file-20210730-19-1s5i9f9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413928/original/file-20210730-19-1s5i9f9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413928/original/file-20210730-19-1s5i9f9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413928/original/file-20210730-19-1s5i9f9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413928/original/file-20210730-19-1s5i9f9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413928/original/file-20210730-19-1s5i9f9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413928/original/file-20210730-19-1s5i9f9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Adam Mosseri’s Instagram Profile on July 30 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Instagram</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When Mosseri posted about the changes for under-16 Instagram users, he carefully framed the news as coming from a parent first, and the head of one of the world’s largest social platforms second. Similar to <a href="https://reallifemag.com/layers-of-identity/">many influencers</a>, Mosseri knows how to position himself as relatable and authentic.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1420014166652461060"}"></div></p>
<h2>Age verification and ‘potentially suspicious’ adults</h2>
<p>In a <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2021/07/age-verification/">paired announcement</a> on July 27, Facebook’s vice-president of youth products Pavni Diwanji announced Facebook and Instagram would be doing more to ensure under-13s could not access the services.</p>
<p>Diwanji said Facebook was using artificial intelligence algorithms to stop “adults that have shown potentially suspicious behavior” from being able to view posts from young people’s accounts, or the accounts themselves. But Facebook has not offered an explanation as to how a user might be found to be “suspicious”. </p>
<p>Diwanji notes the company is “building similar technology to find and remove accounts belonging to people under the age of 13”. But this technology isn’t being used yet. </p>
<p>It’s reasonable to infer Facebook probably won’t actively remove under-13s from either Instagram or Facebook until the new Instagram For Kids app is launched — ensuring those young customers aren’t lost to Facebook altogether.</p>
<p>Despite public backlash, Diwanji’s post confirmed Facebook is indeed still building “a new Instagram experience for tweens”. As I’ve argued in the past, an Instagram for Kids — much like Facebook’s <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-28/messenger-kids-is-facebooks-strategy-video-messeging-app-google/9285530">Messenger for Kids before it</a> — would be less about providing a gated playground for children and more about getting children familiar and comfortable with Facebook’s family of apps, in the hope they’ll stay on them for life.</p>
<p>A Facebook spokesperson told The Conversation that a feature introduced in March prevents users registered as adults from sending direct messages to users registered as teens who are not following them. </p>
<p>“This feature relies on our work to predict peoples’ ages using machine learning technology, and the age people give us when they sign up,” the spokesperson said.</p>
<p>They said “suspicious accounts will no longer see young people in ‘Accounts Suggested for You’, and if they do find their profiles by searching for them directly, they won’t be able to follow them”. </p>
<h2>Resources for parents and teens</h2>
<p>For parents and teen Instagram users, the recent changes to the platform are a useful prompt to begin or to revisit conversations about privacy and safety on social media. </p>
<p>Instagram does provide some <a href="https://about.instagram.com/community/parents">useful resources</a> for parents to help guide these conversations, including a bespoke Australian version of their <a href="https://about.instagram.com/en-us/file/217520986937315/IG-Parents-Guide-English-(Australia).pdf/">Parent’s Guide to Instagram </a> created in partnership with <a href="https://parents.au.reachout.com/landing/parentsguidetoinsta">ReachOut</a>. There are many other online resources, too, such as CommonSense Media’s <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/parents-ultimate-guide-to-instagram">Parents’ Ultimate Guide to Instagram</a>.</p>
<p>Regarding Instagram for Kids, a Facebook spokesperson told The Conversation the company hoped to “create something that’s really fun and educational, with family friendly safety features”. </p>
<p>But the fact that this app is still planned means Facebook can’t accept the most straightforward way of keeping young children safe: keeping them off Facebook and Instagram altogether. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/anorexia-coach-sexual-predators-online-are-targeting-teens-wanting-to-lose-weight-platforms-are-looking-the-other-way-162938">'Anorexia coach': sexual predators online are targeting teens wanting to lose weight. Platforms are looking the other way</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165323/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tama Leaver receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) as a chief investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child.</span></em></p>The changes do not stop Facebook itself from collecting young users’ data and keeping it.Tama Leaver, Professor of Internet Studies, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1629382021-07-25T19:57:24Z2021-07-25T19:57:24Z‘Anorexia coach’: sexual predators online are targeting teens wanting to lose weight. Platforms are looking the other way<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412836/original/file-20210723-15-8kitss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C24%2C1068%2C1894&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There’s no shortage of people online looking to exploit and manipulate the vulnerable among us. One such group is anorexia coaches, or “anacoaches”. </p>
<p>They are typically middle-aged, male sexual predators who go online to find impressionable young people to exploit under the guise of providing weight-loss “coaching”.</p>
<p>I have been researching how anacoaches operate. I’ve found they are facilitated by flaws within social media algorithms, as well as large numbers of young people seeking weight-loss help online.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411732/original/file-20210717-19-1l2o5qt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411732/original/file-20210717-19-1l2o5qt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1007&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411732/original/file-20210717-19-1l2o5qt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1007&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411732/original/file-20210717-19-1l2o5qt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1007&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411732/original/file-20210717-19-1l2o5qt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1265&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411732/original/file-20210717-19-1l2o5qt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1265&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411732/original/file-20210717-19-1l2o5qt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1265&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An anacoach message on Tumblr.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>My ongoing research, coupled with other media reports, indicates opportunity for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/mar/01/anorexia-coaches-kik-app-prey-eating-disorders">anacoaches</a> has risen in the past few years. My analysis showed that on Twitter alone there are about 300 unique requests for anacoaches around the world daily.</p>
<p>Anacoaches operate on numerous channels, including established social platforms such as Twitter, TikTok, Tumblr and Kik. Despite this, these platforms haven’t addressed the problem.</p>
<h2>Targeting teens</h2>
<p>An <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/au/en/pages/economics/articles/butterfly-report-paying-price-eating-disorders.html">estimated 4% of Australians</a>, or roughly one million people, are affected by eating disorders. And almost two-thirds (63%) of these people are thought to be female. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411731/original/file-20210717-15-1qy19qc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411731/original/file-20210717-15-1qy19qc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1267&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411731/original/file-20210717-15-1qy19qc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1267&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411731/original/file-20210717-15-1qy19qc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1267&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411731/original/file-20210717-15-1qy19qc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1592&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411731/original/file-20210717-15-1qy19qc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1592&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411731/original/file-20210717-15-1qy19qc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1592&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Screenshot from TikTok.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://headtopics.com/uk/how-anorexic-kids-as-young-as-thirteen-are-targeted-by-anacoach-trolls-who-force-them-to-starve-th-5579246">Teenagers</a> with eating disorders are more likely to experience poor mental health and impaired functioning in social environments — which leaves them more vulnerable to the influence of anacoaches. </p>
<p>Also, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019074092032082X">research</a> has <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01351/full">shown</a> social media use can exacerbate the extent to which teenagers and young adults chase a “thin” ideal. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.hetckm.nl/nieuws-en-publicaties/pro-ana-coaches-maken-bewust-misbruik-van-meisjes-met-eetstoornis/1">One study</a> published by a Dutch human rights <a href="https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2019/05/researchers-raise-the-alarm-about-predatory-anorexia-coaches/">law group</a> on the predatory behaviours of anacoaches found self-reporting victims had been sexually assaulted and even raped. </p>
<p>And with anacoaching comes the potential for other forms of criminal abuse, such as paedophilia, forced prostitution and even human trafficking.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-virtual-door-to-online-child-sexual-grooming-is-wide-open-90972">The virtual door to online child sexual grooming is wide open</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Social media provides the platform</h2>
<p>With the rise of online platforms there has been an emergence of communities pursuing a thin ideal. These networks tend to share content that endorses extreme thinness. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1358778122372411394"}"></div></p>
<p>Group identity is formed through interactions and hashtag sharing, with a focus on terms used regularly in the context of eating disorders. Common hashtags include #proana (pro-anorexia), #bonespo (bone inspiration), #edtw (eating disorder trigger warning), #promia (pro bulimia), #bulimia, #thighgap, #uw (ultimate weight), #cw (current weight), #gw (goal weight) and #tw (trigger warning).</p>
<p>As highlighted in my previous <a href="https://mental.jmir.org/2021/7/e24340/">research</a>, communication in these communities includes exchanging weight-loss tips, diet plans, extreme exercise plans, imagery of thin bodies and emotional “support”.</p>
<p>Anacoaches lurk in chat forums focused on thin ideals. Each coach will tend to be present in numerous chatrooms, luring teenagers with stories of their past “successes” from coaching. </p>
<p>They market themselves with dubious claims. Some will assign themselves labels such as “strict coach” or “mean coach”. The screenshots below show messages posted on the app Kik.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410541/original/file-20210709-25-ilssn6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410541/original/file-20210709-25-ilssn6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410541/original/file-20210709-25-ilssn6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410541/original/file-20210709-25-ilssn6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410541/original/file-20210709-25-ilssn6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410541/original/file-20210709-25-ilssn6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410541/original/file-20210709-25-ilssn6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Screenshot from Kik.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410534/original/file-20210709-17-ch1a9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410534/original/file-20210709-17-ch1a9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=201&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410534/original/file-20210709-17-ch1a9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=201&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410534/original/file-20210709-17-ch1a9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=201&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410534/original/file-20210709-17-ch1a9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=252&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410534/original/file-20210709-17-ch1a9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=252&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410534/original/file-20210709-17-ch1a9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=252&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Screenshot from Kik.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The coaching predominantly involves sharing pictures and videos for nude body checks (or in undergarments), weekly weigh-ins, and enforcing strict rules on what foods to eat and avoid. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410537/original/file-20210709-27-10bz3vp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410537/original/file-20210709-27-10bz3vp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410537/original/file-20210709-27-10bz3vp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410537/original/file-20210709-27-10bz3vp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410537/original/file-20210709-27-10bz3vp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410537/original/file-20210709-27-10bz3vp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410537/original/file-20210709-27-10bz3vp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Screenshot from Kik.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While there’s currently no way to know how long coaching lasts on average, the harms are extensive. Because of the way its content algorithms work, TikTok, which has a massive young following, will start to recommend user accounts centred around eating disorders once such content is initially sought.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410972/original/file-20210713-23-o8rcac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410972/original/file-20210713-23-o8rcac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1267&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410972/original/file-20210713-23-o8rcac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1267&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410972/original/file-20210713-23-o8rcac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1267&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410972/original/file-20210713-23-o8rcac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1592&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410972/original/file-20210713-23-o8rcac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1592&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410972/original/file-20210713-23-o8rcac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1592&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Screenshot from TikTok.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What is being done?</h2>
<p>There are currently not enough regulations in place by platforms to prevent anacoaches from operating, despite an array of reports highlighting the issue. </p>
<p>Best efforts so far <a href="https://gizmodo.com/instagram-tiktok-and-pinterest-add-support-features-to-1846331651">have involved</a> Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest filtering out selected words such as “proana” or “thinspo” and banning searches for content that promotes extreme thinness. </p>
<p>A TikTok spokesperson told The Conversation the platform does not allow content depicting, promoting or glorifying eating disorders. </p>
<p>“When a user searches for terms related to eating disorders, we don’t return results and instead we direct them to the Butterfly Foundation and provide them with helpful and appropriate advice. We’ve also introduced permanent public service announcements (PSAs) on related hashtags to help provide support for our community,” the spokesperson said. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410934/original/file-20210713-27-1f2yfha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410934/original/file-20210713-27-1f2yfha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410934/original/file-20210713-27-1f2yfha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=751&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410934/original/file-20210713-27-1f2yfha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=751&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410934/original/file-20210713-27-1f2yfha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=751&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410934/original/file-20210713-27-1f2yfha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=944&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410934/original/file-20210713-27-1f2yfha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=944&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410934/original/file-20210713-27-1f2yfha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=944&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Screenshot from TikTok.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The spokesperson said accounts found to be engaging in sexual harassment may be banned. Platforms will ban users if they violate user guidelines, but anacoaches will <a href="https://mental.jmir.org/2021/7/e24340/">often reappear</a> under a new account name.</p>
<p>According to Twitter, evading account bans is against the rules. Earlier this year Twitter announced it would enable a <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/25/22301388/twitter-auto-block-mute-abusive-accounts-safety-mode">safety mode</a> that will allow users to turn on the proactive screening of spammy and abusive content. It remains to be seen what role this will play in curbing targeted attacks from anacoaches.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://5rightsfoundation.com/uploads/Pathways-how-digital-design-puts-children-at-risk.pdf">research-based report</a> released this month by the 5Rights Foundation has detailed how minors online are targeted with sexual and suicide-related content. It references platforms including Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Discord, Twitch, Yubo, YouTube and Omegle. </p>
<p>The research showed children as young as 13 are directly targeted with harmful content online within 24 hours of creating an account online. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410948/original/file-20210713-25-w89ch8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410948/original/file-20210713-25-w89ch8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1267&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410948/original/file-20210713-25-w89ch8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1267&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410948/original/file-20210713-25-w89ch8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1267&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410948/original/file-20210713-25-w89ch8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1592&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410948/original/file-20210713-25-w89ch8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1592&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410948/original/file-20210713-25-w89ch8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1592&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Screenshot from TikTok.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>They may receive unsolicited messages from adults offering pornography, as well as recommendations for eating disorder content, extreme diets, self-harm, suicide and sexualised or distorted body images. </p>
<p>Australia’s policies involving platforms need to be overhauled to ensure platforms adhere to community guidelines and are held accountable when violations occur. </p>
<p>The government should prescribe set rules, informed by the eSafety office, regarding how vulnerable youth online should be helped.</p>
<p>A nuanced intervention approach would generate better outcomes for users with eating disorders as each user would have a <a href="https://mental.jmir.org/2021/7/e24340/">different set</a> of circumstances and a different mental health state.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1368586388820557826"}"></div></p>
<p>Anacoaches on social media should be considered and dealt with like criminals. And platforms that fail to uphold this should face fines for failing to provide a safe user environment for the vulnerable.</p>
<p>In the past the European Union <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-45495544">has fined</a> platforms for allowing terrorist content. Social media giants have also hired contract workers to screen content for examples of terrorism, paedophilia and abuse. This effort should be extended to include anacoaches. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410535/original/file-20210709-15-wu6ic5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410535/original/file-20210709-15-wu6ic5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410535/original/file-20210709-15-wu6ic5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=246&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410535/original/file-20210709-15-wu6ic5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=246&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410535/original/file-20210709-15-wu6ic5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=246&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410535/original/file-20210709-15-wu6ic5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410535/original/file-20210709-15-wu6ic5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410535/original/file-20210709-15-wu6ic5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Screenshot taken from Kik.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Conversation approached Tumblr for comment but did not receive replies within the deadline allocated. Popular messaging app Kik was <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/19/medialab-kik-messenger-app-portfolio/">acquired by</a> MediaLab in 2019. The Conversation approached MediaLab for comment but did not receive a response within the allocated timeframe.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1217175326616367107"}"></div></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162938/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Suku Sukunesan receives funding from NHMRC-MRFF examining social media content involving Eating Disorders. </span></em></p>Eating disorder ‘communities’ online can be dangerous places for young and impressionable teens. And social media algorithms further spread harmful content.Suku Sukunesan, Senior Lecturer in Information Systems, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1459392020-09-10T12:24:27Z2020-09-10T12:24:27ZChildren transitioning from care to adult life are being badly let down – and falling prey to criminal gangs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357473/original/file-20200910-18-19e5zzh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C4%2C895%2C595&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Too many children are going missing from accommodations.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://ccsearch.creativecommons.org/photos/8f2be9c9-48cd-439f-b8f2-c78be474d41f">Penn/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Across the UK, thousands of children are living in unregulated accommodations, designed to help them transition from living in care to an independent life as adults. But a lack of scrutiny means many children under 18 and in the system are badly let down. A <a href="https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/report/unregulated/">new report</a> from the Children’s Commissioner’s Office explores a number of systemic failures that need urgent attention.</p>
<p>Some areas of the system that have come in for criticism include children that are placed in these types of location while too young (age 14 or 15) or with very high support needs. The type of location can vary greatly, with some children placed in flats while others are placed in caravans or even tents.</p>
<p>One of the most troubling aspects of unregulated accommodations is that they are unregulated. <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/463220/Guide_to_Children_s_Home_Standards_inc_quality_standards_Version__1.17_FINAL.pdf">Unlike registered children’s homes</a>, which are inspected by Ofsted to assess the quality of care for children, <a href="https://www.local.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/1910_Commons%20Debate_Unregulated%20Accommodation%20WEB_3.pdf">unregistered accommodations should be inspected by councils</a>. Yet as the report suggests, because of high demands and emergency needs for placements, providers can’t always be properly scrutinised despite being responsible for vulnerable children. While some providers offer a high level of support, others are abusing the system at the expense of the children.</p>
<p>The report found that providers are paid between £1,700 to £9,000 per week per child. This is due to different arrangements in different councils as well as a variety of services these placements claim to offer children. As 73% of providers are private, children can become a lucrative business. </p>
<p>Against this background, criminal organisations use unregulated accommodation to exploit the children (sexually or by recruiting them as drug mules, for example), and so profit even further from the children’s vulnerability and lack of scrutiny.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Beige and white caravan on some grass" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357455/original/file-20200910-16-1vaoi80.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357455/original/file-20200910-16-1vaoi80.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357455/original/file-20200910-16-1vaoi80.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357455/original/file-20200910-16-1vaoi80.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357455/original/file-20200910-16-1vaoi80.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357455/original/file-20200910-16-1vaoi80.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357455/original/file-20200910-16-1vaoi80.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Caravans are among the types of accommodation that vulnerable children are placed in.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://ccsearch.creativecommons.org/photos/1933a1a2-d930-4f7d-afad-7c98314a7e15">suziesparkle/</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Taking advantage</h2>
<p>You may wonder how this can happen. The lack of in-depth inspections means that providers who are part of criminal organisations can employ staff of their choice and vouch for them. </p>
<p>Let us pretend I am the owner of several legal establishments while also in the business of trafficking drugs and children. As things stand, I can state as an employer that Jerome Doe has had a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check – a check of someone’s criminal and cautions record – and all is well. But Jerome has no criminal record because he is in fact John Doe, who does. The new identity I created for him means that this is never discovered. The lack of scrutiny or checks of police records mean organised criminals can get away with it.</p>
<p>Also, according to the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/dbs-check-applicant-criminal-record">DBS website</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A DBS check has no official expiry date. Any information included will be accurate at the time the check was carried out. It’s up to you [a prospective employer] to decide when a new check is needed.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Jane Doe was hired within a criminal organisation when she was 18 years old for the sole purpose of accessing girls in care settings to groom them for future exploitation. She has been sexually exploited since she was 15 years old. She didn’t have a criminal record when she was hired and her DBS check was clear. Given there is no expiry date to a DBS check, if Jane were to be arrested later, the “employer” is not required to renew the DBS checks, hence Jane’s DBS record will remain untarnished and she can move between unregulated accommodations as a member of staff, uninterrupted.</p>
<p>One of the symptoms of child exploitation, child abuse or child neglect is that they go missing. The Children Commissioner’s report highlights that children in unregulated accommodation are reported missing almost twice as often than children in other types of care. The report explains that this is likely to be a result of lack of training by staff or lack of effort by them to resolve situations on their own and an over-reliance on the police. </p>
<p>However, children going missing from these settings can also be an indicator that they <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365-2206.2006.00381.x">are being abused in these settings</a> and are going missing in an effort to distance themselves from harm.</p>
<h2>Missing children</h2>
<p>In <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10439463.2016.1138475">a study I conducted</a> with my colleague Carol Hayden, we examined locations where people were repeatedly reported missing from. The study examined 1,321 closed missing persons cases. These cases came from 149 institutional locations in a police force area in central England and account for nearly half of all repeat reports to the police in this area. </p>
<p>The top ten organisational addresses accounted for over a quarter (27.6%) of the repeat reports over a one-year period. The study highlights the need to identify reporting “hotspots” and encouraged police forces to focus on why so many reports were being made from those particular locations. </p>
<p>Such an approach can help identify poor management, abuse in the care settings, or a problem with the placement of a child who may need to be moved elsewhere. It can inspire multi-agency work including providers, social services and local authorities and lead to the development of localised best practice protocols between the various agencies and clarify expectations from and responsibilities of all parties.</p>
<p>This situation has now been highlighted by the body whose role is to draw attention to such problems. The need now is for something to be done, fast. Close the DBS loophole. Force agencies responsible for vulnerable children to work together and hold them accountable if they do not. Use legislation if necessary. A country cannot consider itself civilised while children are exploited right under its nose.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/145939/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen Shalev Greene does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Children going missing from the same institutions without investigation and loopholes in criminal security checks for people looking after vulnerable children – issues that need urgent attention.Karen Shalev Greene, Director of Centre for the Study of Missing Persons, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1182942019-09-13T09:25:15Z2019-09-13T09:25:15ZTeenagers are vulnerable too – how social workers are trying new ways to keep them safe<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291812/original/file-20190910-190044-apchvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/527458141?src=PekvdNxxj02ampw4sWkbfw-1-5&size=medium_jpg">Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the past four decades the child protection system in England has increasingly <a href="https://www.basw.co.uk/system/files/resources/basw_24144-4_0.pdf">concentrated on preventing</a> the abuse and neglect of young children in their homes. In response to multiple government inquiries, such as those following the killing of eight-year-old <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2062590.stm">Victoria Climbié</a> and 17-month-old, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11626806">Peter Connelly</a> (known as “Baby P”), the focus has been to reduce risk and prevent the abuse and neglect of young children by those looking after them.</p>
<p>But with this focus on younger children and the harm posed by parents and carers, the system largely stopped considering risks that young people, particularly teenagers, face when they leave their front door. This has left teenagers under-protected. </p>
<p>Young people have been groomed and sexually abused by adults across towns and cities throughout the UK in <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-43400336">high-profile</a> cases of child sexual exploitation. Reports are also emerging of teenagers exploited by criminal gangs who use them as drug runners or to move money between different areas of the country along what are <a href="https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/what-we-do/crime-threats/drug-trafficking/county-lines">known as “county lines”</a>. </p>
<p>Teenagers exploited in this way are often victim to physical, emotional and sexual abuse as a form of control or punishment and are frequently trafficked to areas far away from their family and friends.</p>
<h2>The bigger picture</h2>
<p>When it comes to safeguarding – protecting children’s rights and promoting their well-being – adolescents require a different response to younger children and to adults. Across the UK there are many well-respected approaches to safeguarding young people from harm that happens outside the home, such as the long-established <a href="https://noknivesbetterlives.com/info/about-us/">No Knives, Better Lives</a> in Scotland, which has contributed to a significant reduction in knife crime. </p>
<p>In England, <a href="https://www.rip.org.uk/assets/_userfiles/images/general/News%20images/Safeguarding%20during%20adolescence-Briefing_Jan19_v3.pdf">two recent approaches</a> gaining attention include “contextual safeguarding” and “complex safeguarding”. Both of these bring together social workers and traditional child protection agencies, such as the police and healthcare professionals, with other less traditional groups, such as taxi licensing and public transport companies, to help keep children safe. </p>
<p>Contextual safeguarding has been initially piloted in the London borough of <a href="https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2019/03/25/contextual-safeguarding-new-way-identifying-need-risk/">Hackney</a>, led by researcher Carlene Firmin from the University of Bedfordshire. It considers the places that children and young people go to outside their home and the relationships they make as opportunities for interventions. So this makes parks, public transport and schools all part of a possible intervention, moving away from focusing solely on the young person and the boundaries of their family life. For example, this means <a href="https://vimeo.com/200856011">including the staff</a> at the local fast food restaurant in a child’s intervention plan, if this location is where they are at risk of exploitation or abuse.</p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/200856011" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Complex safeguarding, which is being developed in Greater Manchester using <a href="http://www.itsnotokay.co.uk/professionals/act/">evidence from ongoing research</a>, takes a slightly different approach. It shifts the focus from what is going wrong in the young person’s life and the risks they face, to how young people and those around them – including social workers, other agencies and their family – can collaborate to promote their wider well-being. This approach has been shown to <a href="https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/1553596/KEEPING_SAFE_FULL_RESEARCH_REPORT_2019_ENG.pdf">improve outcomes</a> for young people. </p>
<p>Take the example of a teenage boy who is struggling to fit into his new school – and his behaviour at school and at home is becoming challenging. In an attempt to fit in, he frequently meets his peers at the local bus station. But at the bus station he is threatened and coerced into passing packages of money between drug dealers and storing weapons at his house. Traditional interventions may have focused solely on his behaviour and what he and his parents can do to change it – including stopping him from going to the bus station. He may also have been treated as a criminal. </p>
<p>A complex or contextual safeguarding approach would instead focus on a spectrum of his needs. This may include helping him access positive activities and hobbies to nurture his overall well-being and increase opportunities to make healthier friendships. They may also include ensuring the bus station is well lit and that its CCTV system is working. They could also include working with his parents to help educate them about child exploitation. </p>
<h2>Working with parents</h2>
<p>Part of the problem with the current system is that it principally relies on parents and carers and their actions to stop the abuse. But this isn’t always effective if the harm happens outside of the house and outside of their control. A shift is needed so that the child protection system facilitates professionals to work with parents rather than overtly questioning their actions and holding them entirely responsible. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.csacentre.org.uk/documents/evidence-review-by-sara-scott-and-di-mcneish-dmss-research/">Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse</a> has published research showing how parents of sexually exploited children can become isolated through trauma and stigma, and how professionals can help them recover and build new support networks. Organisations such as <a href="https://paceuk.info/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwgLLoBRDyARIsACRAZe6yXy_4V0Q-0zfvyrC4ECskrU8qMtO4VDu048YA80RlxzGWKwlS2G8aAjOvEALw_wcB">Parents Against Child Exploitation</a> not only provide support to parents, they also highlight how parents can play a crucial role in safeguarding their children from exploitation and abuse outside the home. </p>
<p>Considering the whole picture of a young person’s life, including what happens at home, the context of their abuse and the perpetrators doing the abusing, as well as their overall well-being, is a key part of these approaches. All of these are essential if we are to stop blaming victims. When harm happens outside the home, plans and interventions must address the spaces, places and people that young people interact with. Successful plans also focus on the young person’s overall well-being and not just the risks they face.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118294/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick Marsh works for the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse, where his role is to support the translation of research on to practice. </span></em></p>For decades, those working in social care focused on the risks children face in their family home. But what about when they leave the front door?Nick Marsh, PhD Researcher - Safeguarding Young People, University of East LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/781982017-05-25T03:29:46Z2017-05-25T03:29:46ZFrom live streaming to TOR: new technologies are worsening online child exploitation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170897/original/file-20170525-13199-1c8rmty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Australia must develop an effective national response to the sharing and creation of child exploitation material online.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/russian-hacker-hacking-server-dark-532748287?src=lV9GWh3o4dqE3EEQROArZQ-1-0">www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This story contains detail of child abuse some readers may find disturbing.</em></p>
<p>Ease of access to technologies such as live streaming is increasing the production and spread of child exploitation material online.</p>
<p>Our report, <a href="http://www.antislavery.org.au/newsflash/286-new-report-launching-soon-behind-the-screen-online-child-exploitation-in-australia.html">Behind the Screen: Online Child Exploitation in Australia</a>, brings together cases and data from international and Australian law enforcement agencies, as well as interviews with government, police and non-governmental organisations, to provide an alarming snapshot of the challenge we face.</p>
<p>Tens of thousands of images and video are already available online, and the problem is likely to worsen without comprehensive action.</p>
<h2>New technologies and child exploitation</h2>
<p>In Australia and around the world, rates of live-streamed child abuse via webcam, video footage and image capture are growing.</p>
<p>Figures from the Internet Watch Foundation support this trend, showing that reports of child sexual abuse imagery rose by <a href="http://www.antislavery.org.au/images/behind%20the%20screen%20-%20report.pdf">417% between 2013 and 2015</a>. The Australian Federal Police <a href="http://www.antislavery.org.au/images/behind%20the%20screen%20-%20report.pdf">received 11,000</a> online child exploitation reports in 2015. </p>
<p>Technological advancements including anonymising programs <a href="https://www.torproject.org/">such as TOR</a>, peer to peer networking technology and the capacity for increased online file storage and sharing, has facilitated the widespread sharing and storing of harmful material.</p>
<p>This view was shared by a senior officer from the Queensland Police Project “Argos”, which investigates online child exploitation. He told us,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Back in the early 2000s we were dealing with kilobytes and megabytes. Now we are dealing with petabytes, mainly terabytes when we do our seizures… [T]he cheaper cost of storage whether it be cloud based or hard disk based is creating obviously, larger seizures on our front.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Responding to new technology is challenging. Online child exploitation crimes are difficult to track and measure, given the spread of more secure technologies, such as streaming services, the anonymity provided by <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-dark-web-and-how-does-it-work-63613">the “dark web”</a> and less traceable payment systems <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-bitcoin-it-is-not-that-complicated-if-you-ignore-the-geek-speak-46512">such as Bitcoin</a>. </p>
<p>In the words of a senior officer with Argos,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>How difficult is it? Look, if they are using TOR and they are set up and don’t make mistakes, it’s impossible. We’re reliant on some fairly innovative law enforcement techniques and them making errors… if they’re using proxies or anonymising services using encryptions and using the so-called Darknet or TOR, it would be very tough… the hidden web is very, very challenging, but you know that doesn’t mean we give up. We keep trying. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>The cases of Shannon McCoole and Matthew Graham</h2>
<p>The production and sharing of child exploitation online was key to two recent Australian criminal cases.</p>
<p>In 2016, Matthew Graham <a href="https://www.cdpp.gov.au/sites/g/files/net391/f/MR-20160317-Child%20Exp-Graham-FINAL.pdf">was sentenced</a> to 15 years imprisonment for distributing child exploitation material.</p>
<p>Graham administered online websites and forums between 2012 and 2014. He shared hundreds of thousands of images, including videos of the torture and rape of a young child in the Philippines, and in one instance, encouraged the rape and murder of a child in Russia. </p>
<p>The United States Federal Bureau of Investigations described Graham’s network as “one of the largest and most extreme in the world”. </p>
<p>In 2015, Shannon McCoole <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-26/convicted-paedophile-shannon-mccoole-to-give-evidence/7193462">was sentenced</a> to 35 years imprisonment with charges related to his role as head administrator of a global online network with 45,000 members. </p>
<p>The sentencing judge in the McCoole case drew attention to the challenges posed by secretive computer networks and websites created for the specific purpose of distributing exploitative material.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The network allowed communication between individuals in a secure fashion that enabled them to contact each other and share data without necessarily identifying themselves. It was highly sophisticated, elaborate, organised and controlled.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The McCoole case also showed that Australian law has not kept pace with the scale and nature of the crimes. While McCoole was based in Australia and operated the network here, our research found there are no federal legislative provisions dealing with the administration of online child exploitation material networks where the administrator is based in Australia. </p>
<p>In contrast, a few state jurisdictions have introduced provisions, although the effectiveness of these new laws has not been tested.</p>
<h2>What Australia should do</h2>
<p>Australia must confront the rapid increase of gravely exploitative material online.</p>
<p>We need to review the effectiveness of our existing regulatory frameworks, including those governing internet service providers, search engines and social media services. </p>
<p>We recommend the following steps be taken, among others:</p>
<ul>
<li>Outdated industry codes must be changed. Particularly, there is a lack of clarity relating to the legal obligations of internet service providers to report child exploitation material that is hosted on their networks.</li>
<li>A peak national body with representatives from government, law enforcement agencies and other key stakeholders at state, territory and commonwealth levels should be established to review all relevant legislation. </li>
<li>The Broadcasting Services Act must be amended so instances of online child exploitation material on servers hosted in Australia are identified and investigated. </li>
<li>Sentencing outcomes for online exploitation offences should be researched to further explore the relationship between human trafficking and online child exploitation. </li>
</ul>
<p>Offenders are routinely caught with thousands of images. A coordinated and powerful response is necessary if we are to protect children.</p>
<p><em>Anyone can report abuse or illegal activity online to the Australian Federal Police using a form <a href="https://www.afp.gov.au/what-we-do/services/child-protection/online-child-sex-exploitation#report-suspicious-behaviour-online">available here</a>. To report emergencies, such as a child who is in immediate danger or risk, call 000, Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000 or your local police station.</em></p>
<p><em><strong>Correction:</strong> The Internet Watch Foundation <a href="https://www.iwf.org.uk/news/iwf-announce-record-reports-of-child-sexual-abuse-online">has found</a> that reports of child sexual abuse imagery rose by 417% between 2013 and 2015. This figure was originally incorrectly credited to the Australian Federal Police.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78198/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The research received funding from the Rainbow Fish Foundation. </span></em></p>The Behind the Screen: Online Child Exploitation in Australia report provides an alarming snapshot of a growing crime.Jennifer Burn, Professor, Faculty of Law and Director of Anti-Slavery Australia, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/719262017-02-01T12:00:12Z2017-02-01T12:00:12ZHow gangs are exploiting children to do their dirty work<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154552/original/image-20170127-30413-k68zk0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">London-based gangs are sending youngsters around the country to deliver drugs. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/8323445@N08/6501181399/sizes/l">Matt Lake/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Children as young as 12 have been <a href="http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/children-as-young-as-12-running-drugs-from-london-in-new-county-lines-grooming-scandal-a3444111.html">reported</a> to be doing drug runs in London. Targeting the most vulnerable young people in society – usually looked-after children or those already known to social services – organised crime gangs are using grooming tactics to coerce, manipulate and force young children into criminality to pay off unwanted debts. </p>
<p>Through my ongoing research with <a href="https://www.gov.uk/youth-offending-team">Youth Offending Teams</a>, who work with young people in trouble with the law, I’ve found that young people are initially given cannabis, alcohol and cigarettes as a reward for helping with gangs’ dirty work. This can encourage addiction and once addicted, gang members tally up the cost of the drugs, allowing young people to quickly accumulate large debts. Vulnerable young people are becoming trapped in a situation where committing crime is one of very few ways that they can pay off their debt to the gang. </p>
<p>The majority of them fail to realise that they are being manipulated and exploited. My continuing research with staff in youth offending services has found that victims of this new kind of grooming believe that their criminal activity is one of “choice”, and that by complying, gangs will respect them and give them a sense of belonging. Sadly, I’ve heard that this rarely materialises and through the use of violence and intimidation, gangs exert control and a level of ownership over the young person from which it is difficult to escape. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154554/original/image-20170127-30397-dplqec.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154554/original/image-20170127-30397-dplqec.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154554/original/image-20170127-30397-dplqec.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154554/original/image-20170127-30397-dplqec.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154554/original/image-20170127-30397-dplqec.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154554/original/image-20170127-30397-dplqec.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154554/original/image-20170127-30397-dplqec.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Payment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>County lines</h2>
<p>Though gangs are typically highly territorial, laying claim over an area or postcode, they have expanded by moving into areas outside of major cities. This has resulted in the new phenomenon of “county lines”. This typically involves gangs from urban areas transporting class A drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine to underdeveloped drug markets in small counties and coastal towns. Exploited young people <a href="http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/drugs-gang/story-30034563-detail/story.html">are used as the main transporters</a> of these substances. One man from Peckham, South London, was <a href="http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/drugs-kingpin-lived-life-of-bling-while-plymouth-addicts-lived-and-died-in-misery/story-30036705-detail/story.html">convicted</a> in January for running a gang supplying drugs in Plymouth. </p>
<p>Criminal exploitation is not, however, restricted to drugs, and there is <a href="http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/753-county-lines-gang-violence-exploitation-and-drug-supply-2016/file">evidence</a> that some young people are transporters of cash as well as knives and firearms. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/753-county-lines-gang-violence-exploitation-and-drug-supply-2016/file">A report published in 2016</a> by the National Crime Agency was the first to acknowledge criminal exploitation in gangs, particularly through the use of county lines. The report detailed how organised crime gangs use mobile phone lines to forge a deal between drug users and drug mules. The phones are kept away from the drug supply and a relay system is put in place where the young person will deliver drugs, pick up cash and return to the urban location to begin the cycle again. </p>
<p>Drug users, addicts and vulnerable girls living in small counties are also exploited to assist with dealing and are commonly forced to use their homes as a base for storing drugs and weapons. </p>
<p>While London gangs are the dominant exporters to county lines, other gangs are reportedly travelling from Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham. One particular <a href="http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/violent-gangs-dragging-vulnerable-youths-12190362">gang from Merseyside has reportedly</a> been the supplier of drugs across Lancashire, West Yorkshire, Devon and Cornwall. </p>
<h2>Plans to ‘crack down’</h2>
<p>In late January, the government <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-takes-action-on-county-line-drug-gangs">announced plans</a> to crack down on the county lines run by gangs. An <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2016-2017/0080/17080(l).pdf">amendment</a> was tabled to the Digital Economy Bill, currently making its way through parliament, that would force phone providers to disconnect mobiles and SIM cards believed to be connected with drug offences. </p>
<p>Officials have estimated that a single phone line has the ability to generate up to £3,000 per day, and so the number of SIM cards thought to be used for this purpose, an estimated £2m a week. </p>
<p>But with growing demand and increased levels of criminal organisation, it is unlikely that the government’s efforts will disrupt the drugs supply and infiltration of gangs into smaller towns. The removal of one gang will only create a void to be filled by another, which could encourage a vacuum of violence in the process as members fight to get to the top. </p>
<p>The political focus on tackling this kind of child criminal exploitation is clearly welcome. Society <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/oct/30/child-sexual-exploitation-norm-greater-manchester-ann-coffey-report">once treated</a> those children groomed for sexual exploitation as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jan/06/child-prostitution-term-outdated-mp-ann-coffey">offenders of “child prostitution”</a>. These attitudes have changed over the past decade due to greater political attention on <a href="https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/child-abuse-and-neglect/child-sexual-exploitation/legislation-policy-guidance/">tackling child sexual exploitation</a>. </p>
<p>We now immediately recognise the victim of child sexual exploitation as a child – and this ought to be the case for those criminally exploited by gangs. Instead, law enforcement agencies are criminalising victims of this exploitation, drawing them into a system of intense scrutiny and powerlessness. Society is now running the risk of criminalising the most vulnerable. There has already been <a href="https://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/sites/crimeandjustice.org.uk/files/Dangerous%20assocations%20Joint%20Enterprise%20gangs%20and%20racism.pdf">evidence</a> of this through the use of <a href="https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/assets/uploads/files/Joint_Enterprise.pdf">Joint Enterprise</a>, a <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15299605">“lazy law”</a> which has allowed the courts to <a href="http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/joint-enterprise-a-product-of-the-gang-panic/18056#.WIyHm3ecYz">criminalise gang members </a> for slight association with a gang. </p>
<p>The line between victim and offender has become too blurred to separate. So next time you hear of a young person being branded as a feral gang member, dig a little deeper and look for evidence that challenges your prejudices and assumptions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71926/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Grace Robinson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Next time you hear of a young person being branded as a feral gang member, dig a little deeper.Grace Robinson, Graduate Teaching Assistant, Edge Hill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/679402016-11-02T10:32:57Z2016-11-02T10:32:57ZHow do children use the internet? We asked thousands of kids around the world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144068/original/image-20161101-15814-wcg976.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Checking-in after class in the city of Cebu, Philippines.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">UNICEF/Estey</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The internet has reached almost every corner of the globe, but most research on how it is used, particularly among children, focuses on the US and Europe. This is a problem, because according to best estimates <a href="https://www.cigionline.org/publications/one-three-internet-governance-and-childrens-rights">one in three children around the world</a> now uses the internet – most of them outside the West. An increasingly global internet requires increasingly international policy decisions – which must rely on global evidence.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.globalkidsonline.net/synthesis">report</a> from <a href="http://www.globalkidsonline.net">Global Kids Online</a> is the first stage of an ambitious project to find out which children are using the internet, what they are learning, and the opportunities and risks it presents. To hear their perspectives, the project conducted interviews and surveys of children aged between nine and 17 in South Africa, the Philippines and Serbia, and aged 13 to 17 in Argentina. You can listen to South African children and their parents talking about the internet <a href="https://youtu.be/EU4n0MrXw1o">here</a>.</p>
<p>We did not really know what to expect, although we knew some of the problems. In Latin America, for example, children live in hugely different urban and rural environments, and at the extremes of wealth and poverty. South African society exhibits high levels of violence, which now extends online. The Philippines faces a growing challenge around child sexual exploitation and abuse, while Serbia struggles with the social exclusion of its Roma population. Does internet access help children and their families face these issues, or does it make them worse?</p>
<h2>Don’t take away my internet</h2>
<p>There is no doubt that children worldwide welcome the internet into their lives, even when it is expensive, unreliable, or can only be accessed through shared devices or community provision – unlike the ease of access enjoyed by children in the West. A recent worldwide survey reveals that they are beginning to think of it as <a href="http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_76268.html">a human right</a>, a necessity. Similarly, some of the children we spoke to see the internet as an inseparable part of their lives – something they are proud of, as this 15-year-old boy from Serbia said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We grew up with the internet. I mean, the internet has always been here with us. The grown-ups are like “Wow the internet appeared”, while it is perfectly normal for us.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A focus group of 14-17-year-olds from South Africa’s Eastern Cape agreed:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’d say the generation of today knows more than our parents. We’re much smarter than the previous generation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It’s not surprising to learn that children love the freedom to learn or share what they are interested in, when they want to – as these Argentinian teenagers <a href="http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/gko/argentina/">explained</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I wanted to learn to play the guitar and went online.
<br><br>
Being in contact with the others all the time; knowing what the others are doing.
<br><br>
You can contact somebody who is far away over Skype or a video call.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But in the face of moral panics about online risks, we should remind ourselves that children mainly want to learn and to be in touch with people. It is important that adults – whether parents or politicians – do not close off those opportunities.</p>
<h2>The good and the bad</h2>
<p>In many ways, children from very different countries share similar online interests. In the Philippines, for instance, children love Facebook and YouTube, and their top online activities are learning something new, social media, watching video clips, using the internet for schoolwork, and playing online games. In other words, pretty much <a href="http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/mediapolicyproject/2014/12/02/maximising-the-opportunities-for-kids-online-where-are-we/">the same as found in Europe</a>. </p>
<p>It’s possible to see the fact that the same huge tech companies are able to extend their reach and profit from children worldwide as a problem. It is also not yet clear what children learn online – or whether it truly benefits them. But internet access does provide clear opportunities. </p>
<p>In South Africa, up to two in five teenagers look up health information online at least weekly. It is easy to imagine that teenagers value that they can find this just-in-time information online, confidentially. Where might they have found it before the internet? But there are issues surrounding the quality of information on the internet. Is it what they need? And do they have the critical skills to tell reliable from misleading information? We do not know, although what we have found does provide grounds for concern regarding the digital and critical skills of younger users.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144069/original/image-20161101-14771-1lbhj6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144069/original/image-20161101-14771-1lbhj6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144069/original/image-20161101-14771-1lbhj6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144069/original/image-20161101-14771-1lbhj6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144069/original/image-20161101-14771-1lbhj6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144069/original/image-20161101-14771-1lbhj6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144069/original/image-20161101-14771-1lbhj6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">That’s a pic to upload later … boys and their smartphones in Mdantsane, South Africa.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">UNICEF/Afhsin Rohani</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Asked whether anything had happened to them online that upset them in the past year, three-quarters of the children in Argentina surveyed said yes – twice as many as in Serbia and the Philippines. In South Africa it was only one in five. Some examples of upsetting content include:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Gossiping about other people and there are ugly comments about other people.
<br><br>
Racism, xenophobia and killings.
<br><br>
Frequently having older strangers inviting me, seeing nude adverts.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>From the Philippines, we heard reports of <a href="http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/gko/reportphilippines/">direct personal threats</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There was a time when I was impersonated by someone else on Facebook, the user has my photo as the profile picture but with a different name. (Girl aged 12-14)
<br><br>
I once experienced a stranger asking for “my price” - meaning how much it would cost the stranger for the child to do a sexual activity. (Boy aged 15-17)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But lest parents be tempted to ban their children from the internet, we also found lots of positive responses. Two thirds of Argentinian teens were very sure that “there are lots of things on the internet good for children my age”. Those in Serbia and the Philippines were a bit more lukewarm, and South African children more divided still. Striking the right balance of risk and rewards may be hard to achieve.</p>
<h2>Risks and opportunities intertwined</h2>
<p>To understand this, we have to consider the nature of the internet. Take social networking sites, for example: children can use them to connect with their friends, but they are also made visible to unknown others. Reflecting the risk and rewards children from each country experienced, we found that 92% of Argentinian children but only 65% of South Africans say they are allowed to use these sites at any time, with Serbia at 85% and the Philippines at 79%. </p>
<p>So whether parents take a more restrictive or laissez-faire approach makes a difference. But this is not an easy choice for parents to make. Partly because many parents judge their children’s digital skills to be greater than their own, and partly because they try to fit cultural norms and parenting styles, and the specific needs of their children.</p>
<p>Of course, irregular or expensive internet access can be a problem in itself. Our South African colleagues have used these findings to call for more affordable internet access, given the <a href="http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/gko/research-results-southafrica/">high cost of data</a> – this goal is now included in South Africa’s <a href="http://www.gov.za/issues/national-development-plan-2030">National Development Plan 2030</a>. Argentinian children reported using internet most at school, so our Argentinian colleagues have called for more support through a national digital literacy programme.</p>
<p>Global Kids Online is a joint initiative from <a href="https://www.unicef-irc.org/">Innocenti</a>, the research arm of UNICEF, the <a href="http://www.lse.ac.uk/media@lse/research/EUKidsOnline/Home.aspx">EU Kids Online network</a> and the London School of Economics and Political Science, supported by the <a href="http://www.weprotect.org/">WeProtect Global Alliance</a>. This research is just the beginning, and it will be hard to identify cross-cultural trends until more countries take part. But we would urge lawmakers in countries where little reliable evidence exists not to rush into new legislation until they are better able to understand how children and parents balance the risks and rewards they face.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/67940/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sonia Livingstone receives funding from UNICEF and WeProtect Global Alliance</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mariya Stoilova receives funding from UNICEF and WeProtect Global Alliance</span></em></p>The developing world is waking up to the internet. We need to know how new generations of children use it.Sonia Livingstone, Professor of Social Psychology, London School of Economics and Political ScienceMariya Stoilova, Post-doctoral Researcher, London School of Economics and Political ScienceLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/491532015-10-27T04:14:19Z2015-10-27T04:14:19ZPoverty is driving a rise in the number of Nigerian child hawkers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/99653/original/image-20151026-18426-13cbfyr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The number of child street hawkers is on the rise in Nigeria.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Akintunde Akinleye </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Child street hawking is common sight on streets in Nigeria’s cities. Children sell products such as boiled groundnut, fruit and chips that they carry on trays balanced on their heads.</p>
<p>In recent months, the practise has been on the <a href="http://www.aessweb.com/pdf-files/114-137.pdf">rise</a>. The increase is the result of spiralling <a href="http://www.interesjournals.org/full-articles/the-menace-of-street-hawking-in-aba-metropolis-south-east-nigeria.pdf?view=inline">poverty</a> and the worsening <a href="http://www.poverties.org/poverty-in-nigeria.html">economic situation</a>.</p>
<p>The International Labour Organisation estimates that in Nigeria about 14 million children between the ages of five and 14 are involved in a form of <a href="http://www.ilo.org/ipecinfo/product/viewProduct.do?productId=25517">economic activity</a>. </p>
<p>Globally there are <a href="http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/child-labour/lang--en/index.htm">168 million</a> children involved in child labour. Of these, 59 million are from sub-Saharan Africa.</p>
<p>Child street hawking is one of the main forms of child labour. Others include children working at building sites or on farms. Nigeria’s <a href="http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/nigeria-population/">population</a> is estimated at 183 million with about 50% below the age of 18. There is a need for the government to make adequate provisions for education, care and protection for this group, if the nation wants to progress.</p>
<p>In 2008, the Lagos state government <a href="http://www.nairaland.com/198652/lagos-bans-hawking-children-during">banned</a> child street hawking during school hours to reduce the practice. But since then, addressing child street hawking has not been on the government’s agenda. </p>
<p>Street hawking has huge implications for children’s physical and emotional <a href="http://www.sciedu.ca/journal/index.php/wje/article/download/783/383">well-being</a>. It exposes them to <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20695046">sexual abuse</a>, physical exhaustion, vehicle accidents, death and <a href="http://www.bioline.org.br/pdf?rh08027">malnourishment</a> and drug and <a href="http://www.sciedu.ca/journal/index.php/wje/article/download/783/383">substance abuse</a> and prostitution. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20695046">Research</a> shows that among the young girls who street hawk, there is a low awareness of pregnancy or the risk of sexually transmitted infections. </p>
<h2>Child exploitation</h2>
<p>Researchers have described child street hawking as an exploitative form of <a href="http://www.krepublishers.com/02-Journals/JSS/JSS-24-0-000-10-Web/JSS-24-3-000-10-Abst-PDF/JSS-24-3-189-10-972-Nseabasi-A/JSS-24-3-189-10-972-Nseabasi-A-Tt.pdf">child labour</a>. </p>
<p>There are three ways that children become street hawkers. First, most of them are <a href="http://www.ilo.org/ipecinfo/product/download.do;jsessionid=3099791ad77a320f85ead2e703a1418708dbdb1340d6511d9ecb7336792b219a.e3aTbhuLbNmSe34MchaRahaKah50?type=document&id=767">trafficked</a> from the rural communities to the cities for illicit businesses. </p>
<p>The second way is through their parents, who send them to the street to hawk to supplement their family income. In most cases, their families migrated to the city on their own but could not cope with the high cost of living. </p>
<p>Deplorable living conditions and the high rate of unemployment in rural communities because of the government’s focus on development projects in <a href="http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijpr/2013/610193/">cities</a> have given people no option but to migrate to the city. It fosters the notion that migrating to the city is the best way to break the <a href="http://www.bjournal.co.uk/paper/BJASS_16_2/BJASS_16_02_08.pdf">poverty</a> cycle.</p>
<p>Third, they are <a href="http://eujournal.org/index.php/esj/article/download/89/94">orphans</a> who lost their parents either to disease or terrorist activity. They live on the street and hawk for survival.</p>
<h2>Against the law</h2>
<p>Child street hawking opposes the <a href="http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf">UN Convention on the Rights of the Child</a>. Nigeria is a signatory to the convention, which was established in 1989. The convention makes it an offence to involve children in an activity which impacts negatively on their health and well-being. The convention also emphasises the need for the government to protect children from exploitation.</p>
<p>In addition to the convention, Nigeria’s <a href="http://www.unicef.org/wcaro/WCARO_Nigeria_Factsheets_CRA.pdf">Child Rights Act</a> has similar provisions. It says children should be protected from trafficking and/or street hawking. But the implementation of these provisions has been abysmal to date. Children are still being trafficked and pushed into street hawking despite the many dangers associated with it.</p>
<p>In the past the government has provided some structural interventions. These include the <a href="http://ubeconline.com/">Universal Basic Education</a> programme. Introduced in 1999, it was intended to guarantee tuition-free compulsory basic education for all children in Nigeria. But due to poor infrastructure, inadequate funding and lowering education <a href="http://www.medwelljournals.com/fulltext/?doi=pjssci.2009.252.259">standards</a>, the impact is yet to be felt.</p>
<h2>Creating a protective environment</h2>
<p>Despite the emotional trauma and physical dangers these vulnerable children face, little is being done to protect them or to discourage such practices. Poverty alleviation, health education and protective child rights policies would decrease the prevalence of child street hawking.</p>
<p>The parents of children who street hawk should be empowered economically to be able to take care of them. But the government should also <a href="http://www.interesjournals.org/full-articles/health-problems-of-child-hawkers-in-uyo-south-south-nigeria.pdf?view=inline">create awareness</a> about child trafficking and provide affected children with support. </p>
<p>Constantly denying children their right to be protected and cared for has an impact on their effective development and well-being and is an injustice. A concerted effort should be made to implement the UN convention and the provisions of the Child Rights Act. </p>
<p>More importantly, the government must understand the psychological impact of this trade. It must tailor interventions to meet the needs of these children and to reduce the practice.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/49153/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nzubechukwu Okeke does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Children who hawk goods on their heads on Nigeria’s streets face an array of health hazards and physical dangers. The government must take steps to reduce this practice.Nzubechukwu Okeke, PhD Student, Cardiff Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.