Global report: “Covid-19” has increased the rate of sexual exploitation of children via the Internet
The results of the Global Threat Assessment Report 2021 issued by the Global Alliance for the “We Protect” initiative showed that the rate of child sexual abuse and exploitation has escalated at an accelerating pace, which calls for urgent steps to be taken in the global response to create safe digital environments for children.
The initiative includes more than 200 governments, private companies, and civic organizations from around the world, and aims to strengthen the global movement to confront online child sexual abuse and exploitation.
The report indicated that reporting of this crime has reached its highest levels so far in the past two years, with the US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) alone processing 60,000 such reports every day.
In the Arab world, a survey conducted by the Economist Impact Company, commissioned by the coalition, revealed that nearly one out of every two respondents (44%) from the Middle East and North Africa experienced sexual abuse through the Internet in childhood, pointing out that although this The ratio is considered one of the lowest in the world, but it remains an urgent issue that requires urgent attention.
The report highlighted the role of Covid-19 disease as a contributing factor behind the high rate of reported incidents, as it indicates an increase in the proportion of sexual materials produced by children themselves, which constitutes a new challenge for the response models currently used, as the Internet Watch Foundation recorded an increase by 77% in the production of these materials between 2019 and 2020.
“The launch of the 2021 Global Threat Assessment Report presents an opportunity to study efforts to combat online child sexual abuse and exploitation, identify priorities and cooperate with relevant parties in the international community,” said Lieutenant-General Dana Humaid Al Marzouqi, Director-General of the Office of International Affairs in the UAE Ministry of Interior, during a remote seminar. and share our experiences and practices.
Governments can use this report to guide their efforts, as eradicating this crime around the world requires joint and specialized efforts.”
Ian Drennan, Executive Director of the Global Coalition for the “We Protect” initiative, said, “The Internet plays a pivotal role in the lives of children around the world today, especially after the spread of Covid-19. Over the past two years, we have noticed an increase in the prevalence of child sexual abuse via the Internet. The increasing levels of complexity of this problem.
This report is a wake-up call to all of us, and motivates us to intensify global efforts in this context and create a safer digital world for all children.”
The 2021 Global Threat Assessment Report outlines the scale and scope of the threat of online child sexual abuse and exploitation, and aims to encourage efforts to address this crime to reduce and prevent risks to children.
He stated that the issues of sexual abuse and exploitation of children are witnessing an escalation in their prevalence and level of complexity to a degree that exceeds the global capacity to respond, and that the focus must be on prevention in the first place, despite the importance of law enforcement and effective judicial response, a sustainable strategy should be developed that includes successful preventive measures.
There is an urgent need to ensure safe digital environments are created that allow children to learn and develop.
The report also included a survey of technology companies that revealed that most of them use tools to detect child sexual abuse materials (87% use matching numerical values to image data), while only 37% use tools to monitor online solicitations.
Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news