COORDINATION AND PREVENTION TO PROTECT CHILDREN FOR EMERGING RISKS

In 2000, the World Women’s Summit Foundation, which holds consultative status with the United Nations, declared November 19 as the “World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse”, aiming to raise awareness and expose a serious issue that affects hundreds of millions of children and adolescents under the age of 20.

Día de la Prevención del abuso en niños, niñas y adolescentes

As every year since 2011, the World Women’s Summit Foundation calls for action through its “19 Days of Activism” campaign, which seeks to raise global awareness about violence prevention and promote civil society and government initiatives to collectively increase prevention measures.

During the first 19 days of November, a different topic is addressed each day related to violence against children and youth, including sexual violence and abuse, child labor, trafficking and sale of children, child sex tourism, child trafficking, and the dangers of new technologies, among others.

Aligned with ODS 16.2 — “End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence and torture against children” — the campaign invites global leaders and representatives to be held accountable in the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and to devise strategies for ensuring a more just world for children and youth.

Why is it important to understand the dangers of new technologies?

In synergy with various efforts to prevent all forms of violence against children, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) launched a series of educational modules to raise awareness of cybercrimes, which can affect children and adolescents among others.

In its section on “Interpersonal Cybercrime,” the office defines child sexual abuse as “contacts or interactions between a child and another — older or more experienced — child or an adult (a stranger, sibling, or someone in a position of authority such as a parent or caregiver), where the child is used as an object to satisfy the sexual needs of the older child or adult” (UNESCAP, 1999). It also outlines various crimes that may be committed using new technologies, such as online child grooming, child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and live-streamed child sexual abuse.

Grooming is a form of sexual abuse that occurs through deception, where adults attempt to gain the trust of minors online for sexual purposes. Using social media, online games, and other digital platforms, perpetrators create fake profiles and pretend to be peers of their victims.

This grooming process can be slow and subtle, starting with seemingly harmless interactions to build trust, eventually introducing sexual topics or inducing face-to-face meetings that may result in physical abuse or the production and distribution of child sexual abuse material.

As the UNODC notes, numerous studies have shown that online child grooming does not follow a single process. It evolves depending on the offender’s motivations, skills, and ability to manipulate the victim. The end goal is the sexual exploitation or abuse of the victim, either online (by coercing or manipulating the child into providing explicit images or videos) or offline (by arranging in-person meetings for sexual abuse) (UNODC).

In its report “Study on the Effects of New Information Technologies on the Abuse and Exploitation of Children” (2015), UNODC clarifies that groups involved in child sexual abuse may or may not meet the definition of organized criminal groups as outlined in the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.

Depending on their structure, crimes, and objectives, groups producing and distributing CSAM may qualify as organized criminal groups under Article 2(a) of the Convention, which defines such groups as “a structured group of three or more persons, existing for a period of time and acting in concert with the aim of committing one or more serious crimes or offenses established in accordance with this Convention, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit.”

The 2013 “Comprehensive Study on Cybercrime” further explains that current forms of “online” organized crime differ from traditional notions based on physical violence and trust-based relationships. In Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), organized criminal groups may have no physical connection to their victims. Regarding child exploitation crimes via ICTs, these groups often engage in the production and distribution of CSAM, especially within commercial child sexual exploitation markets (UNODC, 2015).

ICTs allow criminals to recruit child victims for sexual exploitation more easily and at lower cost, to communicate with accomplices, and to find clients. One example includes groups offering child sex tourism. Increasingly, operators of commercial child sexual exploitation businesses encourage clients to pay extra for recordings of their crimes in the form of CSAM (UNODC, 2015).

Following recommendations from the 2024 edition of the Child Abuse Prevention Kit, knowing the Convention on the Rights of the Child, promoting safe and regulated use of social media, and involving children in protecting themselves from technological risks are some of the steps that help defend children’s rights.

The World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse invites us to reflect on our collective responsibility to protect children and adolescents. In the face of contemporary threats like grooming, it is vital that prevention strategies evolve alongside technology. Educating children on safe internet use, involving families in monitoring digital activities, and ensuring effective laws are in place are essential actions.

• ONUDC (2015) Study on the Effects of New Information Technologies on the Abuse and Exploitation of Children. Recuperado de https://www.unodc.org/documents/Cybercrime/Study_on_the_Effects.pdf

• ONUDC (2020) Convención de las Naciones Unidas contra la Delincuencia Organizada Transnacional. Recuperado de https://www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/UNTOC/Publications/TOC%20Convention/TOCebook-s.pdf

• ONUDC (2013) Comprehensive Study on Cybercrime. Recuperado de https://www.unodc.org/documents/organized-crime/UNODC_CCPCJ_EG.4_2013/CYBERCRIME_STUDY_210213.pdf