Weak laws and fragmented industry action is exposing
children around the world to increasingly serious violence through the Internet and
other cyber technologies, according to a new report released last week by ECPAT
International. "Violence against Children in Cyberspace" was written with leading
experts around the world as a contribution to the UN Study on Violence against
Children.

The report says violence against children through new technologies is pervasive,
causes deep and lasting physical and psychological damage to the child victims, and
is outstripping the resources of law enforcement agencies. It draws together the
latest knowledge on cyber violence against children and outlines an agenda for
action, including greater industry action and stronger national legislations
harmonised to international standards.

Forms of cyber violence against children outlined in the report include: child
pornography and 'live' online sexual abuse for paying customers, online sexual
solicitation, cyber stalking and bullying, and access to illegal and harmful
materials. As well, child exploiters use cyberspace to network for child sex tourism
and trafficking.  

The UN Study leader, Professor Paulo Pinheiro has welcomed the report as a
comprehensive and "groundbreaking" overview of violence against children related to
new technologies and sounding a clear warning of the urgent need for action to
combat it. "This report gives the global community no excuse for saying that 'we
didn't know' or 'we couldn't foresee' the exponentially increasing violence caused
to children in relation to new information and communication technologies," he says.

The report estimates the child pornography industry to be worth billions of dollars
a year, although most child sex abuse images are traded for non-monetary gain. The
main free-to-view sites have been traced to Russia, the US, Spain, Thailand, Japan
and the Republic of Korea. More than half of the child sex abuse images which are
sold for profit are generated from the US and nearly a quarter from Russia. These
countries are also the main hosts of commercial child pornography websites, followed
by Spain and Sweden.

Millions of child sex abuse images circulate online, and through mobile phones and
peer networks. Interpol's shared child pornography database contains images of
between 10,000 and 20,000 individual child victims, of whom fewer than 350 have ever
been located. 

The key elements of the report's Agenda for Action are: stronger legislation and law
enforcement, greater responsibility from the IT industry, and comprehensive
education campaigns.[Source: CRIN]

For more information, contact:
Deborah Muir, ECPAT International
328 Phaya Thai Road, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Tel: + 66 2 215 3388; Fax: + 66 2 215 8272
Email: deborahm@ecpat.net or media@ecpat.net
Websites: http://www.ecpat.net