When family or friends are behind child pornography

Most people know CSAM as child pornography and experts told ST that the amount distributed over the internet has increased in recent years.

A global threat assessment in 2023 found an 87 percent increase in such reports since 2019.

The scenes depicted in this material are extremely graphic and shocking, some involving children engaging in sexual acts against each other or being tortured.

The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated the situation.

Ms Sinni Lim, IJM’s Asia-Pacific regional strategy and impact director, told ST via email that reports from Interpol and Europol noted an increase in demand for such material at the time.

Experts agree that lockdowns and social distancing made it easier for online abuse to occur, she said.

A 2023 report from the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children said offenders used the internet more frequently during the pandemic and had more opportunities to exploit victims remotely.

Children who stayed at home due to lockdowns were at increased risk of being exploited online or locked at home with their abuser, the report said.

ST attended training in Hanoi, Vietnam, in October on reporting on online child safety issues.

Speakers included a child protection specialist from Unicef ​​Vietnam and a representative from the United Nations International Telecommunications Union. Participants included 30 journalists from Southeast Asia.

Speakers said offenders who download child sexual abuse material come from all over the world and Singapore is no exception.

Interior Minister Sun

The criminal offense of possessing such material came into force in January 2020. The perpetrators face a prison sentence of up to five years and can also be fined or caned.

According to Singapore’s judiciary, the number of cases has been increasing since 2020. There was one case this year, but none in 2021. In 2022 the number rose to five cases and in 2023 to seven.

Offenders were punished with prison sentences ranging from four weeks to 32 months.

Singaporeans have also been arrested in police raids. Between February and March, 28 men were arrested in Singapore as part of a multinational police operation targeting online child sexual exploitation and abuse materials.

Four Singaporean children were among the victims.

Mr Adam Donald, head of child protection and technology at Ecpat, a human rights group working to end child sexual exploitation, said these crimes were a global epidemic.

He added: “Every year the number of online reports about this material increases. We’re seeing more and more reports about grooming.”

Nguyen Ngoc Anh, UNICEF child protection expert, said there are online networks that swap, buy and share such material.

These criminals searched for vulnerable young people online and lured them into sending sexually explicit material of themselves, he added. “They befriend young people, be friendly to them, act like they like and love them, and ask them for a few pictures (in exchange for) gifts and rewards.”

Mr Donald said these explicit photos were shared or used to blackmail the children.

“It is a double crime. It is a crime when it was taken and it is a crime every time someone sees that picture because the child is being re-victimized,” he added.

Unfortunately, strangers are not the only threats.

Ms. Lim estimates that in over 80 percent of cases in the Philippines, online child sexual exploitation is facilitated by parents or relatives.

She added that 41 percent of victims were abused by their biological parents and 42 percent by other relatives.

Cassie’s mother was a housekeeper for the man who exploited her in her village in Mindanao. He called her beautiful and offered to send her to school in Manila, where he exploited her without her parents’ knowledge.

Along with Cassie, there were at least five other underage victims in the house. The youngest was a one-year-old.

Ms Lim said these adults could act as local intermediaries, communicating with offenders from countries such as the US, Australia and Sweden, who pay them to live-stream child abuse in real time.

“Many (who engage in online child sexual exploitation) are motivated by the lure of easy money, as the earnings from this activity are often well above those of regular employment,” she added.

She said while exact revenue is difficult to quantify, traffickers can earn significant sums, particularly when multiple perpetrators are involved.

Ms Lim noted that these offenders often justified their actions by saying that strangers were not actually abusing their children since they did not physically touch them.

She said: “(But) the abuse is still physical. In fact, the resulting trauma is often more complex because the abuse occurs at the hands of a parent or family friend.”

A specialist at Interpol’s crimes against children unit, who did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of her work, said such child victims may self-harm or attempt suicide.

Interpol fights the crime through its international child sexual exploitation database, where more than 70 countries share images and videos of uncovered child sexual abuse.

This helps local law enforcement identify and rescue victims more quickly.

To date, the database contains over 4.9 million photos and videos. More than 45,000 victims have been identified.

The Interpol specialist said that in one case in 2024, the database allowed local authorities to rescue a four-day-old baby who was being sexually abused.

Supply can be stopped by curbing demand.

There are psychologists in Singapore who help those who seek help after being arrested for viewing such material.

Dr. Sandor Heng, a senior clinical psychologist at Promises Healthcare, is handling two such cases. He said many with pedophilic tendencies did not seek help voluntarily because they were ashamed.

He added: “One client was actually relieved when he was caught as it was the only way to come to light.”

Dr. Geraldine Tan, director and senior psychologist at The Therapy Room, said some offenders may have experienced a traumatic childhood or have low self-esteem, which leads them to want to dominate a younger person.

Dr. Heng said he helps offenders regulate their emotions and understand the consequences of their actions, which minimizes the risk of re-offending.

Cassie, who worked in psychiatric care for a decade after her rescue, now has a degree and a full-time job. She is also one of the founders of the Philippine Survivor Network, a group that raises awareness about online child sexual exploitation.

Her perpetrator was sentenced to life imprisonment.

She said, “He can never touch us or hurt us again.”

Smiling, she added: “I am very happy with the woman I have become.”

Protect your child online

Every child who uses the Internet is at risk of being exploited by sexual predators.

Mr Philip Victor, managing director of technology consulting firm Welchman Keen, told journalists during the meeting in Hanoi that educators, policymakers and parents must work together to protect children.

Online Child Safety Tips:

• Data protection: Set your children’s social media accounts to private instead of public to make it harder for strangers to access their information. Disable geolocation for select mobile apps to prevent their location from being shared.
• Parental controls: Enable parental control settings on social media platforms. TikTok’s Restricted Mode limits exposure to content inappropriate for children, while Instagram’s monitoring tools allow parents to see which accounts their child follows.
• Ignore strangers, block them: Online criminals can target children on gaming sites and social media platforms with compliments and gifts. Teach your children to block or ignore such messages and not to talk about sex with strangers.
• Talk to your children: Topics like sextortion may be considered taboo, and some children are afraid to tell an adult if they have a suspicious encounter online. Reassure them that they won’t be judged if they talk to you so they know who to turn to.

Source: Mr. Philip Victor, Welchman Keen