Figure II. Forms of Internet-facilitated child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse
Online child
sexual abuse
Sexual
h arassment
Sexual solicitation
Sexual grooming
Aggressive sexual solicitation
(Commercial)
Sexual exploitation
Child prostitution
Child trafficking for
sex purposes
Aggressive sexual solicitation
Production and consumption
of child pornography
Child sex tourism
Source: EU Safer Internet Project.
Taking such work into account, and drawing from available research and data, including the Cybercrime Study, the
present study considers the main forms of ICT-facilitated
child abuse and exploitation under the following broad headings: child sexual abuse material (child pornography); commercial sexual exploitation of children; cyberenticement,
solicitation and grooming; cyberbullying, cyberharassment
and cyberstalking; and exposure to harmful content.
Child sexual abuse material (child
pornography)
Before elaborating on the different forms of child sexual
abuse material, it is important to first describe the term itself.
Article 2 (c), Optional Protocol to the CRC on the sale of
children, child prostitution, and child pornography describes
child pornography as “any representation, by whatever means,
of a child engaged in real or simulated explicit sexual activities
or representation of the sexual parts of a child, the dominant
characteristics of which is depiction for a sexual purpose.”
Article 34 of the CRC itself requires States Parties to take all
appropriate national, bilateral and multilateral measures to
prevent the “exploitative use of children in pornographic performances and materials.”43 Article 9 (2) of the Council of
Europe Convention on Cybercrime defines “child pornography” as including “pornographic material that visually
depicts: a) a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct; b) a
person appearing to be a minor engaged in sexually explicit
conduct; c) realistic images representing a minor engaged in
sexually explicit content”. Non-governmental organizations
43
Subgroup Against the Sexual Exploitation of Children, 2005.
P. 26.
I.
Identifying and describing the problem 9