This National Child Protection Week, police are urging parents to have age-appropriate conversations with their child around personal safety online and what to do if they find themselves in a situation that makes them feel uncomfortable.
Detectives from the Victorian Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team (JACET), which is comprised of both Victoria Police and AFP investigators, have seen a marked increase in the reporting of online child sexual exploitation.
In the 2021-22 financial year, the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation Child Protection Triage Unit received more than 36,000 reports of child sexual exploitation, which are then passed on to law enforcement in the relevant states and territories to investigate.
Online child sexual exploitation includes a wide range of behaviours and situations. Most commonly this includes grooming, live streaming, consuming child sexual abuse material, and coercing and blackmailing children for sexual purposes.
This could include:
• An adult engaging a child in a chat about sexual acts
• An adult sending nude or pornographic images of themselves to a child or exposing themselves via live streaming
• Asking a child to view pornographic images/videos
• Asking a child to perform sexual acts, expose themselves or share a sexual image
• Taking or making and sharing or showing indecent images of children
Online child sexual exploitation is often thought of as adults abusing children, however, research indicates that more and more child exploitation material is being shared via social media, and is being produced by children themselves. This is sometimes called self-generated sexual content and often takes the form of 'sexting' which is requesting, capturing and sharing of explicit material.
Detective Acting Inspector Carla McIntyre of the Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team suggests having open and honest conversations with your children about their online activities and interactions.
"Talk to your children from an early age about online safety, in particular about the risks associated with talking to people you haven't met in person.
"As parents, when we were young, we were warned of 'stranger danger' and perhaps not getting into a car or going anywhere with someone you didn't know. These days, 'stranger danger' is on the internet.
"While having these conversations, you should also establish rules and boundaries with your children for appropriate online use.
"Be aware of safety and security settings on apps - this could include turning off location settings, setting profiles to private or turning off chat functions.
"You should also educate yourself to understand the technology your children are using - that way, you're across the privacy settings you could have in place to mitigate any harm, and you're also aware of where the harm could potentially come from on that particular app or device.
"With open lines of communication, you'll be more approachable in the eyes of your child if something doesn't feel right and they do need help. And critically, if something does go wrong online - know how to support your child and to report it.
"It doesn't matter how small or insignificant you make think it is - something that may appear small could later prove vital in an investigation.
"It is important to note that anyone who contacts police will be supported and treated with respect, courtesy and dignity.
"If you, your child, or anyone you know is subject to any type of concerning behaviour like this online, we would urge you to contact police and discuss the circumstances with us."
Further helpful information:
For more information and access to tools, resources and advice, as well as reporting and support services, please visit:
Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE)External Link
eSafety CommissionerExternal Link
If you have been abused or have any information relating to the abuse or exploitation of children, report it immediatelyExternal Link.
