Cybersex trafficking

Sex and the law
Social issues
Specific offences
(varies by jurisdiction)
Sex offender registration
Portals

Cybersex trafficking, live streaming sexual abuse,[1][2][3] webcam sex tourism/abuse[4] or ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies)-facilitated sexual exploitation[5] is a cybercrime involving sex trafficking and the live streaming of coerced[6][7] sexual acts and/or rape on webcam.[8][9][10]

Cybersex trafficking is distinct from other sex crimes.[8] Victims are transported by traffickers to 'cybersex dens',[11][12][13] which are locations with webcams[14][9][15] and internet-connected devices with live streaming software. There, victims are forced to perform sexual acts[7] on themselves or other people[16] in sexual slavery[7][17] or raped by the traffickers or assisting assaulters in live videos. Victims are frequently ordered to watch the paying live distant consumers or purchasers on shared screens and follow their commands.[10][18][19] It is often a commercialized,[20] cyber form of forced prostitution.[7][21] Women,[22][23][24] children, and people in poverty are particularly vulnerable[10][15][25] to coerced internet sex. The computer-mediated communication images produced during the crime are a type of rape pornography[26] or child pornography[27][28][29] that is filmed and broadcast in real time and can be recorded.[30]

There is no data about the magnitude of cybersex trafficking in the world.[31][32][33] The technology to detect all incidents of the live streaming crime has not been developed yet.[34] Millions of reports of cybersex trafficking are sent to authorities annually.[35][failed verification] It is a billion-dollar, illicit industry[28] that was brought on with the Digital Age[9][25] and is connected to globalization. It has surged from the world-wide expansion of telecommunications and global proliferation of the internet[10] and smartphones,[36][37][38] particularly in developing countries. It has also been facilitated by the use of software, encrypted communication systems,[39] and network technologies[40] that are constantly evolving,[20] as well as the growth of international online payment systems with wire transfer services[36][32][41] and cryptocurrencies that hide the transactor's identities.[42][43]

The transnational nature and global scale of cybersex trafficking necessitate a united response by the nations, corporations, and organizations of the world to reduce incidents of the crime;[16] protect, rescue, and rehabilitate victims; and arrest and prosecute the perpetrators. Some governments have initiated advocacy and media campaigns that focus on awareness of the crime. They have also implemented training seminars held to teach law enforcement, prosecutors, and other authorities, as well as NGO workers, to combat the crime and provide trauma-informed aftercare service.[44] New legislation combating cybersex trafficking is needed in the twenty-first century.[45][38]

  1. ^ Brown, Rick; Napier, Sarah; Smith, Russell G (2020), Australians who view live streaming of child sexual abuse: An analysis of financial transactions, Australian Institute of Criminology, ISBN 9781925304336 pp. 1–4.
  2. ^ "Child Sex Abuse Livestreams Increase During Coronavirus Lockdowns". NPR. April 8, 2020.
  3. ^ "Philippines child slavery survivors fight to heal scars of abuse". Reuters. April 8, 2020.
  4. ^ Masri, Lena (December 31, 2015). "Webcam Child Sex Abuse". Capstones.
  5. ^ "Improving the regulation of cybersex trafficking of women and children through the use of data science and artificial intelligence" (PDF). Global Campus of Human Rights. October 2020.
  6. ^ "After Fleeing North Korea, Women Get Trapped as Cybersex Slaves in China". The New York Times. September 13, 2019.
  7. ^ a b c d "North Korean women 'forced into sex slavery' in China – report". BBC News. May 20, 2019.
  8. ^ a b Carback, Joshua T. (2018). "Cybersex Trafficking: Toward a More Effective Prosecutorial Response". Criminal Law Bulletin. 54 (1): 64–183.
  9. ^ a b c "Cybersex Trafficking". IJM. 2020.
  10. ^ a b c d "Cyber-sex trafficking: A 21st century scourge". CNN. July 18, 2013.
  11. ^ "Senator warns of possible surge in child cybersex traffic". The Philippine Star. April 13, 2020.
  12. ^ "Duterte's drug war and child cybersex trafficking". The ASEAN Post. October 18, 2019.
  13. ^ "Norwegian national, partner nabbed; 4 rescued from cybersex den". Manila Bulletin. May 1, 2020. Archived from the original on July 29, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  14. ^ "International Efforts by Police Leadership to Combat Human Trafficking". FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. June 8, 2016.
  15. ^ a b "Child sex abuse live streams rising at 'alarming rate' amid surge in 'cybersex trafficking'". The Independent. November 16, 2017.
  16. ^ a b "Safe from harm: Tackling online child sexual abuse in the Philippines". UNICEF Blogs. June 7, 2016.
  17. ^ Smith, Nicola; Farmer, Ben (May 20, 2019). "Oppressed, enslaved and brutalised: The women trafficked from North Korea into China's sex trade". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022.
  18. ^ "These North Korean defectors were sold into China as cybersex slaves. Then they escaped". CNN. June 10, 2019.
  19. ^ "Man jailed in Sweden for ordering webcam rape in Philippines". The Telegraph. January 10, 2013. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022.
  20. ^ a b "Child Sexual Exploitation". Europol. 2020.
  21. ^ Greiman, Virginia & Bain, Christina (2013). "The Emergence of Cyber Activity as a Gateway to Human Trafficking". Journal of Information Warfare. 12 (2): 41–49. p. 43.
  22. ^ "Police rescue 4 women, child from Dumaguete cybersex den". Cebu Daily News. April 30, 2020.
  23. ^ "Australian arrested over alleged cybersex den". ABC News. April 19, 2013.
  24. ^ "In cybersex den: Dutchman nabbed, 8 women rescued". The Freeman. August 9, 2013.
  25. ^ a b "IJM Seeks to End Cybersex Trafficking of Children and #RestartFreedom this Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday". PR Newswire. November 28, 2016.
  26. ^ "National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal". India India. 2020. Archived from the original on May 15, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  27. ^ "Philippines Makes More Child Cybersex Crime Arrests, Rescues". VOA. May 12, 2017.
  28. ^ a b "Philippine children exploited in billion-dollar webcam paedophilia industry". The Sydney Morning Herald. July 8, 2014.
  29. ^ "First paedophile in NSW charged with cybersex trafficking". the Daily Telegraph. March 27, 2017.
  30. ^ "Study on the Effects of New Information Technologies on the Abuse and Exploitation of Children" (PDF). UNODC. 2015.
  31. ^ "Philippines targets cybersex trafficking but young victims are often left in limbo". South China Morning Post. May 6, 2019.
  32. ^ a b "Global taskforce tackles cybersex child trafficking in the Philippines". Reuters. April 15, 2019.
  33. ^ "Surge in online sex trade of children challenges anti-slavery campaigners". Reuters. December 1, 2016.
  34. ^ "Internet child sex abuse contagion in PH: 8 out of 10 perpetrators related to victims". Inquirer. May 21, 2020.
  35. ^ "1st Session, 42nd Parliament, Volume 150, Issue 194". Senate of Canada. April 18, 2018.
  36. ^ a b "Cheap tech and widespread internet access fuel rise in cybersex trafficking". NBC News. June 30, 2018.
  37. ^ "Former UK army officer jailed for online child sex abuse". Reuters. May 22, 2019.
  38. ^ a b "Cybersex trafficking spreads across Southeast Asia, fuelled by internet boom. And the law lags behind". South China Morning Post. September 11, 2019.
  39. ^ "Chasing Shadows: Can technology save the slaves it snared?". Thomson Reuters Foundation. June 17, 2018.
  40. ^ "No country is free from child sexual abuse, exploitation, UN's top rights forum hears". UN News. March 3, 2020.
  41. ^ "Webcam slavery: tech turns Filipino families into cybersex child traffickers". Reuters. June 17, 2018.
  42. ^ "How the internet fuels sexual exploitation and forced labour in Asia". South China Morning Post. May 2, 2019.
  43. ^ "Online child sex abuse rises with COVID-19 lockdowns: Europol". Reuters. May 18, 2020.
  44. ^ "'We didn't have much to eat': Poverty pushes some kids towards paid sex abuse in the Philippines". CNA. July 9, 2019.
  45. ^ Dushi, Desara (October 10, 2019), "Chapter 12: Combating the Live-Streaming of Child Sexual Abuse and Sexual Exploitation: A Need for New Legislation", in Hunsinger, Jeremy; Allen, Matthew M.; Klastrup, Lisbeth (eds.), Second International Handbook of Internet Research, Springer, pp. 201–223, ISBN 978-9402415537 pp. 201-203.