A Digital Plague: The Rise in Online Child Sexual Abuse Material
By: Claudine Wiant, JD - Executive Director, Prevent Child Abuse Delaware
Two recent news reports in our statewide newspaper have highlighted a different kind of pandemic facing children and teens around the world – Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM):
What exactly is CSAM?
You likely guessed from the headlines of the articles above and are more likely familiar with the previous vernacular: child pornography or “kiddie porn,” now disfavored.
Specifically, CSAM is defined by the U.S. Department of Justice as “any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a person less than 18 years old.” CSAM is the preferred term as it better describes the criminal nature of these acts and the associated trauma caused by them. It also eradicates the notion that child victims have somehow consented to their victimization.
But let’s be clear: Possession, creation, exchange, transportation, and the sale of CSAM are crimes – and worse, crimes against children.
Child sexual abuse material becomes boundless the moment it’s shared across the internet or stored on hard drives, mobile devices, or in “the cloud.” Remember, the internet is a “world wide web,” where anything, I repeat, ANYTHING can be shared and sold globally in virtual perpetuity.
Can you imagine being haunted by digital images of your own victimization from childhood or even a “nude” repeatedly and unexpectedly for the rest of your life? Its eternal nature makes this already incredibly traumatic crime against children even more unimaginable and excruciating because it is, in some respects, inescapable.
Unlike other criminal enterprises, such as drug trafficking, countless sellers can repeatedly sell the same product (Child Sexual Abuse Material) all around the world without end.
Sadly, and just like any other business, the higher the demand for CSAM, the more child sexual abuse material will be created, with more and more children being harmed. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, “From 2013 to 2021, the number of CyberTipline reports received by NCMEC (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children) [regarding CSAM and suspected online child exploitation] skyrocketed from 500,000 to almost 30 million.”
Even more concerning, child sexual abuse material has become more extreme and more violent in recent years, according to Thorn (https://www.thorn.org/research/child-sexual-abuse-material-csam/). And its victims are typically extremely young, with more than half not yet reaching puberty (https://www.missingkids.org/theissues/csam#whoarethevictims).
We could not have fathomed the challenges and dangers of the digital age facing children and teens today.
Offenders are not just lurking in dark alleys or circling the neighborhood in unmarked vans with tinted windows. They are in neighborhood homes armed with their laptops, smartphones, and tablets, creating, searching for, exchanging, and selling CSAM.
But what can we do?
First, supporting victims, survivors, and their families is paramount. In Delaware, suspected or known child sexual abuse and its material is always a mandatory report to the DFS Child Abuse Reporting Line: 800-292-9582.
Nationally, you can report child sexual abuse material to the CyberTipline online at report.cybertip.org or by calling 800-843-5678 (800-THE-LOST). If a child is not in immediate danger, an online report can be made at iseethesigns.org. Additional information is available in this resource guide published by Delaware’s Child Protection Accountability Commission: resource_guide_mandatory_reporting_child_abuse_and_neglect.pdf (delaware.gov).
Prevention is key in stopping these crimes and interrupting trade. When children are educated and prepared to face the possible perils, they are prepared with the tools they need to stay safe.
Prevent Child Abuse Delaware (PCAD) is committed to stopping all forms of abuse. For 46 years, PCAD has been supporting parents and educating children about personal body safety, preventing child sexual abuse, and the skills needed to avoid abuse or disclose abuse.
While it’s not a child’s job to prevent abuse, I think we can agree that children urgently need to be equipped with the knowledge and tools to recognize and avoid potentially harmful situations when they happen.
PCAD’s flagship program, B.E. S.M.A.R.T., can help. This research and evidence-based personal safety program provides age-appropriate information about child abuse and neglect to schoolchildren in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade in a classroom setting. The program teaches children to:
Be Aware,
Express Feelings,
Stay Safe,
Make Good Choices,
Always Check First,
Rely on your Gut, and
Talk and Tell.
To learn more about PCAD, B.E. S.M.A.R.T., and access parent resources, visit PCADelaware.org.
Request or advocate for B.E. S.M.A.R.T. in a school in your community by contacting your school’s principal or school district superintendent.
Finally, for individuals who feel urges to seek out child sexual abuse material or to commit acts of child sexual abuse, there is help and support available. If you feel these urges, know they are not healthy and can cause extraordinary pain and suffering throughout a victim’s entire life.
If you have these thoughts, we strongly encourage you to seek out a therapeutic specialist or therapeutic services at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse (Resources for People Concerned About Their Own Sexual Thoughts and Behavior | Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse (jhu.edu)).
Other supports, such as Stop It Now, have self-help pages (Worried About Your Own Thoughts And Behaviors | Stop It Now), and a confidential helpline (888-PREVENT) with an online chat feature is also available. Be a champion for children now by getting the help and support you need. It is our primary responsibility as adults to protect children from harm.