NGOs but also police officers are concerned about the surge in online sex crimes and crimes against children around the world. Predation is reinforced with confinements.
Many pedophiles have taken advantage of coronavirus lockdowns to contact minors online. Deprived of school, children in front of their computers have become even easier prey to coax. And these online sex crimes have mostly focused on small children from poor countries such as the Philippines or Indonesia, reports France-Presse (AFP), relayed by the site 20minutes. Other regions of the world are also affected via social networks, online gaming sites or the dark web.
Records of reports
In Australia, nearly 21,000 reports of child sex offenses were recorded by federal police in the 12 months to the end of June, more than 7,000 more than the previous year. "Some of these dark web sites are crashing because they can't keep up with the traffic", says Paula Hudson, Australian investigator. John Tanagho, from the NGO International Justice Mission (IJM) in Manila interviewed by AFP, explains: "The lockdowns linked to Covid-19 have created an explosive cocktail conducive to an increase in the sexual exploitation of children online". A 260% increase in reports of content related to crimes against children was noted from March to May by the Philippine government, shares Unicef. "Specific forums to discuss the opportunities that arise during the Covid" even saw the light of day, notes Paula Hudson.
To read also: Pédocriminalité: a listening number for pedophiles launched nationwide
Children exploited by their own parents
Great poverty leads parents to sacrifice their children for the money of pedophiles. Fathers and mothers thus broadcast images live, with a simple smartphone, for predators in rich countries. "(Crimes) are ordered, paid for and consumed live by criminals all over the world, who don't need to leave the comfort of their homes.", emphasizes John Tanagho. Victims are very often exploited for an average of two years before being rescued. A survey by the Ecpat network, which fights against the sexual exploitation of minors, found that 20% of young people in Indonesia say they have seen predatory behavior online. "Parents need to be even more attentive to their children's online activities as they can become victims or perpetrators of internet crimes within minutes", insists the Indonesian police commissioner Teuku Rasya Khadafi to the France-Presse agency.
In an attempt to counter the power of pedophiles on the Internet, John Tanagho asks tech groups to develop tools to detect the streaming of sex crimes and offenses. In the book "1 of 5 – Manifesto against pedocriminality in France", published in November 2020, Karl Zéro, Homayra Sellier and Serge Garde recall that a study by the European Parliament in 2016 "produced a frightening figure: 1 in 5 children would be threatened with an act of pedocriminality in their direct family environment or in the context of schools or associations." A global societal scourge, which is reinforced by the pandemic.
If you are a witness or a victim, contact Allô Enfance en danger on 119, a free call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and which does not appear on the phone records. This telephone number is "intended for any child or adolescent victim of violence or any person concerned about a situation of a child in danger or at risk of being so."