Dozens of crimes involving explicit images of children reported in Geelong

Dozens of crimes involving explicit images of children have been reported in Geelong, shocking new statistics have revealed.

Dozens of crimes involving intimate images of children have been reported in Geelong, shocking new statistics have revealed. Photo by Loic VENANCE / AFP.

Dozens of offences involving intimate images of minors have been reported in Geelong, shocking new statistics have revealed, as experts warn these are likely just the tip of the iceberg.

In the five years to March 2024, 43 intimate image-based offences were reported against minors in Greater Geelong, according to the Crime Statistics Agency (CSA), compared with 84 offences reported against adults over the same timeframe.

More than half the offences against kids had been reported sine April 2022.

Sexual Assault Services Victoria chief executive officer Kathleen Maltzahn said the real numbers were realistically a lot higher, with schools being “overrun” by these issues.

“There is a great deal of sexual violence that doesn’t go reported,” she said.

“It’s happening everywhere.”

She said social media platforms and new apps popping up were making it difficult to tackle the issue through education.

“It’s very hard to shield kids,” she said.

“(Tech companies) have to be held to account.”

Sexual Assault Services Victoria chief executive officer Kathleen Maltzahn said the real numbers were realistically a lot higher.

Intimate image-based offences can include intent to distribute, distribution, threatening to distribute or producing intimate images of another person.

State-wide, these offences involving victimised minors have increased by 24 per cent in the year to March 2024, according to the CSA, with 310 reports reported during this period, compared to 251 the year prior.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said Sexual Offence and Child Abuse Investigation Teams and Victorian Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team detectives were regularly visiting schools across the state to ensure students, teachers, parents and school staff knew how and where to seek help.

“Sharing an explicit image of someone without their consent is never acceptable,” she said.

She said young people who experienced this concerning behaviour were encouraged to come forward and make a report.

“It is against the law and those who choose to engage in this kind of reprehensible behaviour will be caught by police,” she said.

The federal government has invested $82m to date in the Respectful Relationships initiative, and budgeted $39.1m for the next four years to deliver training, support and funding to more than 1950 government, Catholic and independent schools.

In May, the $7.8m women’s safety package was announced to expand and embed the Respectful Relationships initiative to include new resources to help parents support kids to safely navigate online.

A Victorian government spokeswoman said it had put a nation-leading ban on mobile phones for students during school hours to prevent issues like cyber-bullying and harassment.

Originally published as Dozens of crimes involving explicit images of children reported in Geelong