Cybersex trafficking

Cybersex trafficking, or live streaming sexual abuse[1][2][3] is a cybercrime involving sex trafficking and the live streaming of coerced[4][5] sexual acts and/or rape on webcam.[6][7][8]

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Cybersex trafficking is distinct from other sex crimes.[6] Victims are transported by traffickers to 'cybersex dens',[9][10][11] which are locations with webcams[12][7][13] and internet-connected devices with live streaming software. There, victims are forced to perform sexual acts[5] on themselves or other people[14] in sexual slavery[5][15] or raped by the traffickers or assisting assaulters in live videos. Victims are frequently ordered to watch the paying live distant consumers or purchasers on shared screens and follow their commands.[8][16][17] It is often a commercialized,[18] cyber form of forced prostitution.[5][19] Women,[20][21][22] children, and people in poverty are particularly vulnerable[8][13][23] to coerced internet sex. The computer-mediated communication images produced during the crime are a type of rape pornography[24][25] or child pornography[26][27][28] that is filmed and broadcast in real time and can be recorded.[29]

There is no data about the magnitude of cybersex trafficking in the world.[30][31][32] The technology to detect all incidents of the live streaming crime has not been developed yet.[33] Millions of reports of cybersex trafficking are sent to authorities annually.[34] It is a billion-dollar, illicit industry[27] that was brought on with the Digital Age[7][23] and is connected to globalization. It has surged from the world-wide expansion of telecommunications and global proliferation of the internet[8] and smartphones,[35][36][37] particularly in developing countries. It has also been facilitated by the use of software, encrypted communication systems,[38] and network technologies[39] that are constantly evolving,[18] as well as the growth of international online payment systems with wire transfer services [35][31][40] and cryptocurrencies that hide the transactor's identities.[41][25][42]

The transnational nature and global scale of cybersex trafficking necessitate a united response by the nations, corporations, and organizations of the world to reduce incidents of the crime;[14] protect, rescue, and rehabilitate victims; and arrest and prosecute the perpetrators. Some governments have initiated advocacy and media campaigns that focus on awareness of the crime. They have also implemented training seminars held to teach law enforcement, prosecutors, and other authorities, as well as NGO workers, to combat the crime and provide trauma-informed aftercare service.[43] New legislation combating cybersex trafficking is needed in the twenty-first century.[44][37]

Terminology

Cyber-, as a combining form, is defined as 'connected with electronic communication networks, especially the internet.'[45] Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation, including sexual slavery.[46] Victims of cybersex trafficking are trafficked or transported to 'cybersex dens,' which are rooms or locations with a webcam.[12] The cybercrime also involves the transporting or streaming of images of the victims' bodies and sexual assaults in real time through a computer with a webcam to other computers connected to the internet.[6][4][8] It thus occurs partly in the physical or real world, as the sexual assault is real,[47] and partly in cyberspace.[48]

Victims

Victims, predominantly women[49][50][16] and children,[20] are abducted,[5] threatened, or deceived.[8][16] Others are drugged.[51] They are held captive and locked up[16] in rooms with covered or no windows and a webcam.[8] They experience physical and psychological trauma.[8][27][43] Gang rape has occurred on webcam.[15][52] Some are coerced into incest.[30] Victims have been denied food,[15] deprived of sleep,[16] and been forced to perform when sick.[4] They have contracted diseases, including tuberculosis, while in captivity.[4] A number are assaulted[4][16] or tortured.[28][53]

Victims can be exploited in any location where the cybersex traffickers have a computer, tablet, or phone with internet connection.[7] These locations, commonly referred to as ‘cybersex dens,’[9][10][11] can be in homes, hotels, offices, internet cafes, and other businesses, making them extremely difficult or impossible for law enforcement to identify.[8] The number of cybersex trafficking victims is unknown.[30][31] Some victims are simultaneously forced into prostitution in a brothel or other location.[54]

Rescues involving live streaming commercial sexual exploitation of children by parents often require a separation of the minors from the families and new lives for them in a shelter.[43]

Some victims are not physically transported and held captive, but rather victims of online sextortion. They are threatened,[55] webcam blackmailed,[56] or bullied to film themselves committing online sexual acts.[25][57] Victims have been coerced to self-penetrate, in what has been called 'rape at a distance.'[56] Others are deceived, including by phony romantic partners who are really rape or child pornography disturbers, to film themselves masturbating.[58] The videos are live streamed to purchasers or recorded for later sale.[29]

Those marginalized through poverty, conflict, social exclusion, discrimination, or other social disadvantages are at an increased risk of being victimized.[39] The cybersex trafficking and or non-consensual dissemination of sexual content involving women and girls, often involving threats, have been referred to as “digital gender violence" or 'online gender-based violence.'[59]

Victims, despite being coerced, continue to be criminalized and prosecuted in certain jurisdictions.[39]

Perpetrators

Traffickers transport victims to locations with webcams and live streaming software. They or assisting assaulters then commit and film sex crimes to produce real time rape pornography or child pornography materials that may or may not be recorded. The online audience or consumers, who are often from another country, may issue commands to the victims or rapers and pay for the services. Male and female[40][60][61] perpetrators, operating behind a virtual barrier and often with anonymity, come from countries throughout the world[31][35][27] and from every social and economic class. Some traffickers and assaulters have been the victims family members, friends, and acquaintances.[8][13][27] Traffickers can be part of or aided by international criminal organizations, local gangs, or small crime rings or just be one person.[8] They operate clandestinely and sometimes lack coordinated structures that can be eradicated by authorities.[8] The majority of purchasers or consumers are men.[53][27] Impunity is a problem.[62] The encrypted nature of modern technology makes it difficult to track perpetrators.[31] They are motivated by greed[26] and or sexual gratification.[28] Traffickers advertise children on the internet to obtain purchasers.[32] Funds acquired by cybersex traffickers can be laundered.[38]

Overseas predators seek out and pay for live streaming or made-to-order services[35] that sexually exploit children.[7][13][30] They engage in threat to gain the trust of local traffickers, often the victims' parents or neighbors, before the abuse takes place.[43]

Internet platforms
Cybersex trafficking is a cybercrime carried out partly by means of computers and the internet. Traffickers transport victims to 'cybersex dens' and use webcams to stream sexual assaults in real time through a computer to the internet for live distant purchasers across the world.

Cybersex trafficking is partly an internet-based crime.[15] Perpetrators use social media networks,[40] videoconferences, dating pages, online chat rooms, mobile apps,[47] dark web sites,[42][35] and other pages and domains.[63] They also use Telegram (software)[25] and other cloud-based instant messaging[56] and voice over IP services, as well as peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms, virtual private networks (VPN),[39] and Tor protocols and software, among other applications, to carry out activities anonymously.

Consumers have made payments to traffickers, who are sometimes the victim's family members, using Western Union, PayPal, and other electronic payment systems. [64]

Dark web

Cybersex trafficking occurs commonly on some dark websites,[42] where users are provided sophisticated technical cover against identification.[35]

Social media

Perpetrators utilize Facebook[28][38][56] and other social media technologies.[35][40]

Videotelephony

Cybersex trafficking occurs on Skype[65][36][35] and other videoconferencing applications.[66][31] Pedophiles direct child sex abuse using its live streaming services.[65][35] [28]

Activities by region

Australia and Oceania

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) investigates cybersex trafficking crimes domestically and in the Asia-Pacific region.[37][65][31]

East Asia

Cybersex trafficking occurred in the 2018–2020 Nth room case in South Korea.[67][25]

North Korean women and girls have been subjected to penetrative vaginal and anal rape, groping, and forced masturbation in 'online rape dens' in China.[4][15][68]

Europe

The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) investigates and spread awareness about live streaming sexual abuse.[42] Europol's European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) is especially equipped to combat the cybercrime.[18]

The United Kingdom's National Crime Agency (NCA) investigates cybersex trafficking crimes domestically and abroad.[37][35][31]

North America

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)[37][26] and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the investigative arm of the United States Department of Homeland Security, carry out anti-cybersex trafficking operations.[60] The United States Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP) partners with agencies and organization overseas to rescue cybersex trafficked victims.[69]

Southeast Asia

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) identified the Philippines as the global center of cybersex trafficking.[9] The Office of Cybercrime within the Philippines Department of Justice receives hundreds of thousands of tips of videos and images of sexually exploited Filipino children on the internet.[9] The Philippine National Police, along with its Women and Children Protection Center (WCPC), Philippine Internet Crimes Against Child Center (PICACC),[31] Philippine InterAgency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT, Department of Justice (Philippines), and Department of Social Welfare and Development[69] fight cybersex trafficking in the country.[11][60] Rancho ni Cristo in Cebu is a shelter devoted exclusively to rehabilitating children of live streaming sexual abuse.[43] Children in the shelter are provided food, medical care, counselling, mentoring and life skills training.

The Royal Thai Police's Internet Crimes Against Children (TICAC) task force combats cybersex trafficking in the nation.[58]

Combating the crime

Authorities, skilled in online forensics, cryptography, and other areas,[31] use data analysis and information sharing to fight cybersex trafficking.[65] Deep learning, algorithms, and facial recognition are also hoped to combat the cybercrime.[38] Flagging or panic buttons on certain videoconferencing software enable users to report suspicious people or acts of live streaming sexual abuse.[29] Investigations are sometimes hindered by privacy laws that make it difficult to monitor and arrest perpetrators.[35] Conviction rates of perpetrators are low.[14]

The International Criminal Police Organisation (ICPO-INTERPOL) collects evidence of live streaming sexual abuse and other sex crimes.[39] The Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) comprises law enforcement agencies across the world who combat the cybercrime.[18] The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) funds training for police to identify and address the cybercrime.[14]

Multinational technology companies, such as Google, Microsoft, and Facebook, collaborate, develop digital tools, and assist law enforcement in combating it.[38]

Education

The Ministry of Education Malaysia introduced cybersex trafficking awareness in secondary school syllabuses.[70]

Relation to other sex crimes
Cybersex trafficking is distinct from other sex crimes in that it involves the trafficking of the victim and then the simultaneous use of live streaming software and webcams, including those on smartphones and tablet computers.

Cybersex trafficking shares similar characteristics or overlaps with other sex crimes. That said, according to attorney Joshua T. Carback, it is 'a unique development in the history of sexual violence...'[6] and 'distinct in several respects from traditional conceptions of online child pornography and human trafficking...'[6] The main particularization is that involves victims being trafficked or transported and then raped or abused in live webcam sex shows.[6][71][40] The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime identified the cybercrime involving trafficked victims on webcam sex shows as an emerging problem.[72] The illegal live streaming shows occur in 'cybersex dens,' which are rooms equipped with webcams.[12] The cybercrime has sometimes been informally called 'webcam rape'.[73][74]

Non-governmental organizations

The International Justice Mission is one of the world’s leading nonprofit organizations that carries out anti-cybersex trafficking initiatives.[23][13][8] End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT)[8][42] and the Peace and Integrity of Creation-Integrated Development Center Inc., a non-profit organization in the Philippine, support law enforcement operations against cybersex trafficking.[69]

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the United States assists authorities in cybersex trafficking cases.[75] It provides CyberTipline reports to law enforcement agencies.[62]

Terre des hommes is an international non-profit that combats the live streaming sexual abuse of children.[35][27]

The Korea Future Initiative is a London-based organization that obtains evidence and publicizes violations of human rights, including the cybersex trafficking of North Korean women and girls in China.[50]

References
  1. Brown, Rick; Napier, Sarah; Smith, Russell G (2020), Australians who view live streaming of child sexual abuse: An analysis of financial transactions, Australian Institute of Criminology, ISBN 9781925304336 pp. 1–4.
  2. "Child Sex Abuse Livestreams Increase During Coronavirus Lockdowns". NPR. April 8, 2020.
  3. "Philippines child slavery survivors fight to heal scars of abuse". Reuters. April 8, 2020.
  4. "After Fleeing North Korea, Women Get Trapped as Cybersex Slaves in China". The New York Times. September 13, 2019.
  5. "North Korean women 'forced into sex slavery' in China - report". BBC News. May 20, 2019.
  6. Carback, Joshua T. (2018). "Cybersex Trafficking: Toward a More Effective Prosecutorial Response". Criminal Law Bulletin. 54 (1): 64–183.
  7. "Cybersex Trafficking". IJM. 2020.
  8. "Cyber-sex trafficking: A 21st century scourge". CNN. July 18, 2013.
  9. "Senator warns of possible surge in child cybersex traffic". The Philippine Star. April 13, 2020.
  10. "Duterte's drug war and child cybersex trafficking". The ASEAN Post. October 18, 2019.
  11. "Norwegian national, partner nabbed; 4 rescued from cybersex den". Manila Bulletin. May 1, 2020.
  12. "International Efforts by Police Leadership to Combat Human Trafficking". FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. June 8, 2016.
  13. "Child sex abuse live streams rising at 'alarming rate' amid surge in 'cybersex trafficking'". The Independent. November 16, 2017.
  14. "Safe from harm: Tackling online child sexual abuse in the Philippines". UNICEF Blogs. June 7, 2016.
  15. Smith, Nicola; Farmer, Ben (May 20, 2019). "Oppressed, enslaved and brutalised: The women trafficked from North Korea into China's sex trade". The Telegraph.
  16. "These North Korean defectors were sold into China as cybersex slaves. Then they escaped". CNN. June 10, 2019.
  17. "Man jailed in Sweden for ordering webcam rape in Philippines". The Telegraph. January 10, 2013.
  18. "Child Sexual Exploitation". Europol. 2020.
  19. Greiman, Virginia & Bain, Christina (2013). "The Emergence of Cyber Activity as a Gateway to Human Trafficking". Journal of Information Warfare. 12 (2): 41–49. p. 43.
  20. "Police rescue 4 women, child from Dumaguete cybersex den". Cebu Daily News. April 30, 2020.
  21. "Australian arrested over alleged cybersex den". ABC News. April 19, 2013.
  22. "In cybersex den: Dutchman nabbed, 8 women rescued". The Freeman. August 9, 2013.
  23. "IJM Seeks to End Cybersex Trafficking of Children and #RestartFreedom this Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday". PR Newswire. November 28, 2016.
  24. "National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal". India India. 2020.
  25. "Bithumb delists Monero amid Nth room sex scandal". Cryptopolitan. May 16, 2020.
  26. "Philippines Makes More Child Cybersex Crime Arrests, Rescues". VOA. May 12, 2017.
  27. "Philippine children exploited in billion-dollar webcam paedophilia industry". The Sydney Morning Herald. July 8, 2014.
  28. "First paedophile in NSW charged with cybersex trafficking". the Daily Telegraph. March 27, 2017.
  29. "Study on the Effects of New Information Technologies on the Abuse and Exploitation of Children" (PDF). UNODC. 2015.
  30. "Philippines targets cybersex trafficking but young victims are often left in limbo". South China Morning Post. May 6, 2019.
  31. "Global taskforce tackles cybersex child trafficking in the Philippines". Reuters. April 15, 2019.
  32. "Surge in online sex trade of children challenges anti-slavery campaigners". Reuters. December 1, 2016.
  33. "Internet child sex abuse contagion in PH: 8 out of 10 perpetrators related to victims". Inquirer. May 21, 2020.
  34. "1st Session, 42nd Parliament, Volume 150, Issue 194". Senate of Canada. April 18, 2018.
  35. "Cheap tech and widespread internet access fuel rise in cybersex trafficking". NBC News. June 30, 2018.
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  38. "Chasing Shadows: Can technology save the slaves it snared?". Thomson Reuters Foundation. June 17, 2018.
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  43. "'We didn't have much to eat': Poverty pushes some kids towards paid sex abuse in the Philippines". CNA. July 9, 2019.
  44. Dushi, Desara (October 10, 2019), "Chapter 12: Combating the Live-Streaming of Child Sexual Abuse and Sexual Exploitation: A Need for New Legislation", in Hunsinger, Jeremy; Allen, Matthew M.; Klastrup, Lisbeth (eds.), Second International Handbook of Internet Research, Springer, pp. 201–223, ISBN 978-9402415537 pp. 201-203.
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  54. "8 kids rescued from cybersex den in Taguig". Rappler. June 11, 2015.
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  56. "Five years in jail for "rape at a distance" for online abuser". The Brussels Times. September 26, 2018.
  57. "Nepal Failing to Protect Women from Online Abuse". Human Rights Watch. May 18, 2020.
  58. "Thai police say cybersex traffickers targeting boys from wealthy families". Reuters. June 17, 2019.
  59. "Lawmakers vow to thwart 'digital gender violence'". Taipei Times. May 13, 2020.
  60. "'Trapped with abusers,' 7 kids rescued from sex trafficker in Luzon". Rappler. April 25, 2020.
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  65. "Australian cyber sex trafficking 'most dark and evil crime we are seeing'". ABC News. September 7, 2016.
  66. "PHILIPPINES Even 2-month-old babies can be cybersex victims – watchdog". Rappler. June 29, 2017.
  67. "What is 'Nth Room' case and why it matters". Korea Herald. April 24, 2020.
  68. "North Korean Women "Uniquely Vulnerable" to Sex Trafficking in China: Report". Radio Free Asia. May 21, 2019.
  69. "12 minors rescue in Butuan City cybersex den". SunStar. May 22, 2020.
  70. "Teo: Cybersex and human trafficking now part of school syllabus". The Star. October 2, 2019.
  71. "Webcam child sex: why Filipino families are coercing children to perform cybersex". South china Morning Post. June 26, 2018.
  72. "Thailand Toughens Rape Laws". VOA News. June 1, 2019.
  73. "Swedish Court to issue verdict on the Filipino 'webcam rape'". ScandAsia. January 10, 2013.
  74. "Sunderland paedophile jailed for US webcam 'rape'". The Northern Echo. July 31, 2009.
  75. "Sheriff's investigator: Children increasingly victims of cyber sex trafficking". The Augusta Chronicle. February 28, 2020.

Further reading
  • Brown, Rick; Napier, Sarah; Smith, Russell G. (February 2, 2020). Australians who view live streaming of child sexual abuse: An analysis of financial transactions. Australian Institute of Criminology. ISBN 9781925304336.
  • Bryce, Jo (November 3, 2009). "Chapter 16: Online sexual exploitation of children and young people". In Jewkes, Yvonne; Yar, Majid (eds.). Handbook of Internet Crime. Routledge. pp. 320–342. ISBN 978-1843925248.
  • Carback, Joshua T. (2018). "Cybersex Trafficking: Toward a More Effective Prosecutorial Response". Criminal Law Bulletin. 54 (1): 64–183. Abstract.
  • Chibba, Michael (April 2014). "Contemporary issues on human trafficking, migration and exploitation". Migration and Development. 3 (2): 163–173. Abstract.
  • Dushi, Desara (October 10, 2019). "Chapter 12: Combating the Live-Streaming of Child Sexual Abuse and Sexual Exploitation: A Need for New Legislation". In Hunsinger, Jeremy; Allen, Matthew M.; Klastrup, Lisbeth (eds.). Second International Handbook of Internet Research. Springer. pp. 201–223. ISBN 978-9402415537.
  • Greiman, Virginia & Bain, Christina (2013). "The Emergence of Cyber Activity as a Gateway to Human Trafficking". Journal of Information Warfare. 12 (2): 41–49. Abstract.
  • Humphreys, Krystal; Le Clair, Brian & Hicks, Janet (2019). "Intersections between Pornography and Human Trafficking: Training Ideas and Implications". Journal of Counselor Practice. 10 (1): 19–39.
  • Reed, T.V. (June 6, 2014). Digitized Lives: Culture, Power, and Social Change in the Internet Era. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415819312.
  • "Study on the Effects of New Information Technologies on the Abuse and Exploitation of Children" (PDF). United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 2015.
  • Quayle, Ethel; Ribisl, Kurt M. (March 1, 2013). Understanding and preventing online sexual exploitation of children. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415689410.
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