Australian authorities issue warning over rising child exploitation online

Canberra, Sep 6 (IANS) Australian authorities have issued a warning over a rise in the number of children being coerced into producing sexual and violent content online.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) on Friday cautioned parents and guardians over an online trend emerging in Australia involving young victims who are being coerced over the internet to produce extreme content, Xinhua news agency reported.

The AFP said that sadistic sextortion is a growing type of internet crime where online communities target children as young as 12 and pressure them to self-produce an image or video of an explicit sexual or violent act to gain acceptance into the community.

Once the image or video is produced and sent to an offender, the recipient will then send the content to other members of the community who will extort the victim by threatening to share the explicit material with their friends or family unless more extreme content is produced.

According to the AFP, offenders in some cases are the same age as victims being targeted.

Helen Schneider, AFP Commander of Human Exploitation, said that intelligence received by the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) suggested most offenders in extreme online groups were motivated by obtaining status or notoriety within the group rather than money.

"These offenders are not motivated by financial gain. Instead, they are driven by exploiting vulnerable victims into producing abhorrent content for their deranged amusement," she said in a statement.

"Unfortunately, some victims in these groups do not see themselves as victims. They do not believe they are being coerced into performing these extremely horrific acts and therefore are unlikely to report it to the authorities."

The AFP issued the warning to coincide with National Child Protection Week (NCPW), which aims to engage and educate Australians about the complexity of child abuse and neglect.

Schneider said that parents and guardians should be aware of the warning signs that a young person is being groomed - such as increased screen time and self-isolation - and be prepared to have a conversation with a child they believe is engaging in harmful activity online.