Victims Are Not Virtual: Situation Assessment of Online Child Sexual Exploitation in South Asia, UNICEF, 2016
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The opinions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of UNICEF. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this report, including tables, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNICEF concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Permission to copy, disseminate or otherwise use information from this report is granted as long as appropriate acknowledgement is given. Suggested citation: UNICEF. Victims Are Not Virtual: Situation assessment of online child sexual exploitation in South Asia, UNICEF, 2016. To the best of our knowledge, the information contained herein is accurate and reliable; however, UNICEF does not assume any liability whatsoever for its accuracy and completeness. © United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Regional Office for South Asia (ROSA), November 2016. Cover illustration and design: Nemm (www.nemmnemm.net/) Design and layout by E.K. Solutions. VICTIMS ARE NOT VIRTUAL Situation assessment of online child sexual exploitation in South Asia Acknowledgements This review was prepared by Data & Society Research Institute, and benefited from the expertise of Mark Latonero, Monica Bulger, Bronwyn Wex, Emma Day, Kapil Aryal, Mariya Ali, Keith Hiatt, Patrick Davidson, Alexandra Mateescu, Idil Ali, Mikaela Pitcan, Beth Garrett, Stacy Abder and Janet Haven. Kendra Gregson (UNICEF) guided the project. The specialized knowledge of a distinguished reference group further enhanced this study, and UNICEF thanks them for their generous insights and careful reviews. Margaret Akullo UNODC, Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Section, Organized Crime and Illicit Trafficking Branch Ramiz Behbudov UNICEF Sri Lanka Country Office Peta-Gaye Bookall UNICEF Pakistan Country Office Anjan Bose UNICEF headquarters, New York Jasmina Byrne UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti, Italy Songha Chae UNICEF Sri Lanka Country Office Sarah Coleman UNICEF Pakistan Country Office Susie Hargreaves Internet Watch Foundation Sarah Hicks National Crime Agency, Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Hemamal Jayawardena UNICEF Sri Lanka Country Office Wojciech Koprowicz UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia Aniruddha Kulkarni UNICEF Bhutan Country Office Daniel Laskey-Heard National Crime Agency, Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Carla Licciardello International Telecommunication Union Mohamed Naeem UNICEF Maldives Country Office Rose-Anne Papavero UNICEF Bangladesh Country Office Ethel Quayle University of Edinburgh, Clinical & Health Psychology, School of Health in Social Science Kate Sinnott National Crime Agency, Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Clara Sommarin UNICEF headquarters, New York Eri Mathers Suzuki UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia Joachim Theis UNICEF India Country Office Karma Tsering UNICEF Bhutan Country Office Shabnaaz Zahereen UNICEF Bangladesh Country Office Contents Abbreviations and acronyms ................................................................................................................................................. 7 Executive summary .................................................................................................................................................................. 11 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................. 15 1.1 Focus of report ..................................................................................................................................................................... 15 1.2 Report overview ................................................................................................................................................................... 16 1.3 Key research areas ............................................................................................................................................................... 17 1.4 Overview of methods .......................................................................................................................................................... 17 1.5 Promotion of children’s rights to education, to access information and to freedom of expression .................. 17 2. Methodological approach ............................................................................................................................................... 21 2.1 Literature review .................................................................................................................................................................. 21 2.2 In-country fieldwork ............................................................................................................................................................ 21 2.3 Limitations of research ........................................................................................................................................................ 21 2.4 Defining online child sexual exploitation ........................................................................................................................ 22 2.4.1 Online child sexual exploitation and child abuse ................................................................................................ 22 2.4.2 Online child sexual exploitation ............................................................................................................................. 22 3. A rights-based review of law and policy related to online child sexual exploitation .................. 25 3.1 International child rights law related to online child sexual exploitation ................................................................. 25 3.2 Regional initiatives to address online child sexual exploitation ................................................................................. 27 3.3 Online CSAM and criminal justice .................................................................................................................................... 28 3.3.1 Model Law on child pornography of the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children ............ 29 3.3.2 The role of INTERPOL .............................................................................................................................................. 29 3.3.3 Global Programme on Cybercrime of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime ............................. 30 3.4 Online facilitation of offline child sexual exploitation and criminal justice ............................................................. 31 3.4.1 Online grooming of children .................................................................................................................................... 31 3.4.2 Online facilitation of child marriage ....................................................................................................................... 31 3.4.3 Online facilitation of exploitation of children in travel and tourism ............................................................... 32 3.5 Corruption of children for sexual purposes, and child protection............................................................................ 32 3.6 Sexual extortion of children – child protection and criminalization ...................................................................... 32 3.7 The child victim’s right to redress – civil and criminal justice, state compensation funds ................................... 34 3.8 The child’s right to protection: commercial law and industry self-regulation ......................................................... 35 3.8.1 Commercial law .......................................................................................................................................................... 35 3.8.2 Industry self-regulation ............................................................................................................................................. 36 3.8.3 ITU and UNICEF Guidelines for Industry on Online Child Protection ........................................................... 37 3.8.4 The Mobile Alliance against Child Sexual Abuse Content of the Groupe Spécial Mobile Association ... 38 3.8.5 Social media companies – Facebook .................................................................................................................... 41 3.8.6 Financial industry ....................................................................................................................................................... 41 3.8.7 Private agents ............................................................................................................................................................. 42 3.9 Access to justice – the implementation gap .................................................................................................................. 42 4. Balancing children’s online protection and participation............................................................................. 45 4.1 Opportunities of online engagement ............................................................................................................................. 45 4.2 Youth negotiation of online risks .....................................................................................................................................