A groundbreaking new study, led by Monash University researchers, calls for reforms to how institutions handle child sexual abuse material (CSAM), placing survivors' voices, rights, and safety at the centre of decision-making.
The Survivor Perspectives on Institutional Use of CSAM study was led by researchers at Monash University's Artificial Intelligence for Law Enforcement and Community Safety (AiLECS) Lab at the Faculty of Information Technology in collaboration with not-for-profit organisation Bravehearts Foundation. The project was funded by the National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse.
Based on in-depth interviews and surveys with victims and survivors of child sexual abuse—many of whom were depicted in CSAM—the study's final report revealed mistrust of current institutional practices and identifies ongoing trauma caused by the retention and use of CSAM, even for sanctioned purposes like law enforcement, research, or prevention.
A collective statement from participants of this work highlights the need for survivor-centred practice and calls institutions to respond in ways that matter.
"For many of us, the ongoing use of child sexual abuse material, even for lawful or institutional purposes can feel like a continuation of the original harm."
"This work matters because it recognises our right to safety, dignity, and choice. It gives voice to experiences that were once silenced, and calls on systems to see us not just as evidence, but as human beings. When institutions centre survivors and genuinely listen, it's not just healing, it's justice in action."
The final report, released in two volumes, includes six calls to action and 24 concrete recommendations designed to guide institutions toward trauma-informed, survivor-centred policy and practice. Key proposals include:
- Creating survivor opt-in notification schemes and enduring victim impact statements
- Embedding duty of care and considered trauma-informed responses in every sanctioned use of CSAM
- Reforming consent mechanisms and improving transparency and public understanding
- Equitably supporting survivors with tailored justice pathways (that involve outcomes victims and survivors feel has meaning for them), information access, and long-term case liaison officers
- Enhancing use of international databases like Interpol's International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) database to identify and disrupt offending, find and locate victims, and improve global approaches to tackling online exploitation and abuse.
Co-author of the report and AiLECS Research Fellow, Kelly Humphries, has a lived experience of child sexual abuse and has long been an advocate for those who cannot speak for themselves. This coupled with sixteen years of law enforcement experience has given her a rare insight.
Ms Humphries said the research revealed that for many, the sanctioned use of CSAM can feel like a continuation of the original abuse when consent, transparency, and safeguards are absent, highlighting the need for a contextual and nuanced approach that fully considers the breadth of victims' and survivors' lived experiences to ensure meaningful engagement.
"We found that some survivors want to be informed and engaged with processes, others don't. Either way, institutions must offer safe, flexible pathways to enable agency and choice, rather than silence or overwhelm victims and survivors during procedures," Ms Humphries said.
"When survivors are heard and supported, trust can begin to be rebuilt."
Chief Investigator of the study and AiLECS Co-Director Associate Professor Campbell Wilson said there has been a steady increase in the generation and distribution of CSAM, consequently, there is an urgent need to safeguard the survivors and victims in every possible way.
Both volumes of the report were informed by interviews with 13 survivors and 11 professionals working in law enforcement, justice, or policy, as well as 87 anonymous survey responses. Survivors were consulted at every stage of the process and given multiple ways to engage in the research on their own terms.
"While undertaking this research we took a considered approach towards listening to and recording the perspectives of our survivor participants while protecting their privacy, so that all outcomes of the study are firmly rooted in respectfully learning from their lived experiences," Associate Professor Wilson said.
Research collaborator Bravehearts Foundation is an Australian child protection not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the prevention and treatment of child sexual abuse.
"We've heard repeatedly from survivors that they feel invisible in systems designed to protect them," Bravehearts Foundation Director of Research Ms Carol Ronken said.
"Our work confirms that centering survivor perspectives isn't optional—it's essential to achieving justice, accountability, and healing."
Looking ahead, the researchers remain committed to amplifying the voices of victims and survivors. In collaboration with Bond University and supported by Safe Online, their next project will develop trauma-informed response frameworks to address "capping" — a technology-facilitated form of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) where individuals are unknowingly recorded and the abuse material shared without their knowledge.
