E/CN.15/2014/CRP.1 Figure 1: Cybercrime act descriptions Source: Comprehensive Study on Cybercrime, 2013 Three of these act descriptions have particular relevance for the consideration of child abuse and exploitation: computer-related acts causing personal harm; computer-related solicitation or ‘grooming’ of children; and computerrelated production, distribution and possession of child pornography. These acts are by no means exhaustive of the type of offences of which children may be victim through ICT, but they do provide a good starting point for discussion. The first two acts fall into the category of “computer-related acts for personal or financial gain or harm” and the third under “computer content-related acts”. “Computer-related acts for personal or financial gain or harm” refers to “acts for which the use of a computer system is inherent to the modus operandi” and in which the offence object may be regarded as the individual targeted, such as through the use of a computer system to harass, bully, threaten, stalk or to cause fear or intimidation of an individual, or ‘grooming��� of a child. As noted in the Cybercrime Study, one challenge is that this category may include a broad range of otherwise offline crimes, when committed with the use or help of a computer system.26 The category of “computer content-related acts” concerns computer content – the words, images, sounds and representations transmitted or stored by computer systems, including the Internet. The material offence object in content-related offences is often a person, an identifiable group of persons, or a widely held value or belief. In the same way as the category of computerrelated acts for personal or financial gain or harm, these acts could in principle be committed offline, as well as through the use of computer systems.27 Within both broad categories of acts, clear legislation and definitions are key for providing well-defined criminalization of conduct especially related to ICT-facilitated child abuse and exploitation. In particular, some courses of conduct may cut across categories, such as when a child is both ‘groomed’ online and persuaded to send personal images of a sexual nature. The remainder of the study is divided into four parts. Chapter Two builds on the above by identifying and defining key terms in analysing the problem of ICT-facilitated child abuse and exploitation. It describes the most common __________________ 26 27 4 UNODC, 2013. Pp. 17-18. UNODC, 2013. Pp. 18-19. V.14-03040