Brutal online sex abuse of children on the rise
In More children becoming victims of ‘brutal’ online sex abuse, Kieran Guilbert of the Thomson Reuters Foundation writes that ‘The global spread of cheap, high-speed internet and the rise in mobile phone ownership is fuelling the growth of cybersex trafficking, which has become a “brutal form of modern-day slavery”’, citing a report by Britain-led WeProtect. According to UNICEF, some 1.8 million children are brought into sex traffic each year. The WePROTECT Global Threat Assessment 2018 – Working together to end the sexual exploitation of children online concludes that ‘Technology is enabling offender communities to attain unprecedented levels of organisation, creating new and persistent threats’.
About author
DW Team
The GIP Digital Watch Observatory team, consisting of over 30 digital policy experts from around the world, excels in the fields of research and analysis on digital policy issues. The team is backed by the creative prowess of Creative Lab Diplo and the technical expertise of the Diplo tech team.