UNITED STATES
The Guardian (UK)
May 14, 2018
Children are being coerced and blackmailed into live-streaming their own sexual abuse from their own homes, researchers have found.
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), which carried out the study, says that large numbers of victims are white girls apparently from relatively affluent backgrounds, often streaming from their bedroom. Their profile contrasts markedly with that of typical offline abuse victims who are often homeless or poor, it points out.
In a three-month period last year, the charity identified 2,082 images and videos of live-streamed child sexual abuse. Of that number, 96% were girls and 98% were children aged 13 and under, with most (69%) assessed to be between 11 and 13. Almost three in 10 (28%) were aged under 10 and the youngest victim was just three years old.
The vast majority (96%) showed a child on their own in a home environment, leading the IWF to conclude they are being groomed, coerced and blackmailed into live-streaming their own sexual abuse over webcams, tablets and mobile phones.
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