What is hidden is greater on the Internet .. Pay attention to what your children create in their rooms behind the screens

In light of the closure of schools and the isolation of aggressors in their homes due to the Corona epidemic, the sexual exploitation of children via the Internet has increased in the world, as revealed by non-governmental organizations and police agencies in several countries around the world, not only in developing countries.

Many scammers have taken advantage of the restrictions caused by the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic to communicate with minors, most of the time, from developing countries, as well as through social media platforms, online gaming platforms and the darknet.

The Federal Police in Australia received more than 21,000 reports of sexual abuse against children, sometimes under their first year, during the past 12 months until late June, 7,000 times more than last year.

"Some websites in the dark web are being disrupted by the intensity of their turnout," says Paula Hudson, Investigator at the Federal Reserve.

Police attribute this "massive turnout directly" to children and crusaders spending more time at home, as school closures leave young people to their fate, according to Hudson.

The Philippine government recorded a 260% increase in reports related to content related to child exploitation between March and May, the period which witnessed the most severe lockdown measures in the country, according to UNICEF.

In Indonesia, which has become, as the Philippines, a fertile ground for child exploitation, 20% of young people revealed that they have witnessed prolonged practices on the Internet, according to an investigation conducted by the international network "ICBAT" to eliminate sexual exploitation of minors.

And East Java Police in Indonesia recently discovered a group on a chat app that was making live shows in which minors were exposed.

A 14-year-old girl participated in a hypothetical show like this, while her family thought she was doing her homework in her room.

The members of this group increased by three times to reach 600 during the isolation measures.

Child molesters are also using online gaming platforms, according to Glenn Holly, a former Australian policeman who has collaborated with an NGO.

"During the isolation measures, we witnessed criminals trying to communicate with children through popular applications among young people, such as gaming platforms that have a place to chat," he explains.

They pretend they are young, claiming to be YouTube celebs or even justin Bieber stars.

And children are not the only victims of these practices in developing countries.

At the beginning of last November, the Australian police announced the arrest of 14 men suspected of having produced and circulated material showing sexual abuse, and the police had identified 46 victims, including 16 from the same custody of children in Australia.

This phenomenon, which is intensifying in the countries of Asia-Pacific, has become widespread in many countries, according to a recent report in which Interpol raised the alarm about these practices last September.

In Germany, investigators announced in June that they had identified about 30,000 suspects in a network that trafficked child pornography.

"It is a huge and global problem, and what is hidden is greater," says John Tanaghu, calling on technology groups to develop tools to monitor these practices.

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