Explosion of online child abuse shames Australia, but we must talk about it

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It is a dreadful statistic and we should be ashamed of it. Research indicates Australia is the third largest consumer of live, online child sexual abuse.

And with overseas travel grounded because of COVID-19, it is likely more depraved individuals are paying for live-streamed, pay-per-view child abuse and rape, which in some cases can cost less them than a packet of cigarettes.

Unfortunately, the pandemic has made so many more people across the globe even more desperate. Shockingly, even before the virus, there was anecdotal evidence that in some developing countries mothers had babies for this purpose: to sell their children’s innocence and bodies.

This is National Child Protection Week. The Australian Federal Police works with agencies in Australia and overseas to keep kids safe — and to bring to justice those who harm our most vulnerable.

Our message to predators is this: just because victims are outside Australia, it does not mean offenders are safe from the reach of law enforcement. We have the power to arrest and charge offenders who sexually abuse children offshore. The AFP works with our international partners to protect children from debased Australians wherever they may be in the world.

Last March, a Victorian man working as an international flight attendant was sentenced to almost 19 years’ jail in Australia for sexually abusing children in The Philippines across seven years. He was charged with 35 serious child sex and exploitation offences.

The AFP Victorian Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team identified 26 female child victims aged between 12 and 17. The AFP international network engaged with the Philippine National Police to help rescue them.

Next week a Cairns man is due back in Cairns Magistrates Court after being charged with possessing child abuse material. An AFP investigation began in July after officers received intelligence the man was allegedly sending remittances to The Philippines that could be facilitating the abuse of children. During the search of his home, police seized several electronic items that allegedly contained evidence of child abuse.

Recognising the live, online child sexual abuse in The Philippines the AFP, along with our partners, established the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Centre, which tracks down the facilitators of the sexual abuse and removes children from harm.

Since the inception of the PICACC, 21 suspects has been charged and 62 children have been rescued because of referrals via Australian-based investigations.

The value of the AFP’s relationship with the Philippine National Police cannot be understated.

Australians should be outraged by this offending, not only because it is abhorrent but also because recent investigations have revealed that pedophiles who view online child sex abuse material have also been contact offenders — and they are contact offending against children offshore and in Australia.

Parents may find this subject almost unspeakable, but they must listen. We are urging parents to better understand technology, to be aware of the apps their children are using and to know whom their children are talking to online.

Between July 1 last year and June 30 this year, the AFP laid 1214 charges against 161 people, removing 67 Australian children from harm.

In the same period, the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation received more than 21,000 reports of child sexual exploitation, a 50 per cent increase on the year before. In April, May and June this year, reports to the ACCCE from the public relating to child exploitation material online increased 122 per cent compared with the corresponding period last year. It is clear COVID-19 has drawn out more predators online.

The average number of images seized when an offender is arrested has shot up. In the early to mid-2000s, offenders averaged about 1000 images; these days it is 10,000 to 80,000 images and videos.

New material is being produced and shared every day. It is important to understand that a perpetrator on the other side of the world can use technology to target your child in your home.

It is a distressing topic, but as a country — and in our own households — we need to talk about the threats to our children. We need to talk more about how to keep our kids safe online and in the community.

If it takes a village to raise a child, advances in technology mean it now takes a country to keep them safe.

For more information on how to keep children safe online and in the community, visit www.accce.gov.au and www.thinkuknow.org.au.
Lesa Gale is assistant commissioner, Australian Federal Police.