A key aspect to better protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation is to deepen our understanding of the crime, perpetrator tactics and behaviour, and the lived experiences of victim-survivors.

ICMEC Australia is proud to have served as the gold sponsors for the inaugural Child Sexual Abuse Research Reduction Network’s (CSARRN) Workshop held this week in Adelaide. Driven by our mission to facilitate cross-sector collaboration and help build the capacity and capabilities of those within the industry, we are always looking for ways to support our stakeholders to meet their missions and outcomes. 

Sponsoring the inaugural CSARRN workshop provided a valuable opportunity for us to demonstrate our unwavering support for critical Australian research to uncover data-driven insights and evidence-based approaches, aimed at enhancing the protection of children from harm. 

Established in 2023 by a group of dedicated researchers committed to combating child sexual abuse, CSARRN’s inaugural workshop, hosted by the University of Adelaide, brought together key researchers and thought leaders from global institutions and Australia’s world-leading research teams. The event facilitated the sharing of work, the fostering of new collaborations, and the development of unified solutions to better address child sexual abuse.

Featuring informative sessions delving into the complexities of child sexual abuse and exploitation, the workshop covered various aspects of this heinous crime. As a key subject matter expert, our Head of Data Products, Warren Bulmer, was invited to present his research paper on DarkNet Child Exploitation Forums. Other topics discussed at the workshop included offending behaviours, investigative methods, advances in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, harmful sexual behaviours, and prevention initiatives.

With our work streams designed to seamlessly support projects and stakeholders collaboratively, this was an important event for our Head of Capacity and Prevention, Dannielle Kelly, and Head of Impact, Tiphanie Au, who represented the organisation at the workshop. In addition to enjoying the meaningful insights from presenters on a diverse range of research topics, it was a unique opportunity for them to network with a collective of like minded people committed to finding solutions to this crime.

We know that we need to work collaboratively to tackle these issues effectively, and our Capacity & Prevention and Impact streams combine to support the academic research that plays such a critical role in enhancing the protection of children. By forming new connections and having the potential for future partnerships with these academics leading their field, we hope that ground-breaking work of the future will emerge from this event to help the enhanced detection and prevention of CSE.

As the sponsor for the inaugural workshop we were delighted to support this worthwhile initiative, and we extend our gratitude to CSARRN for organising such an insightful event. We look forward to building on the relationships made and we are eagerly looking forward to further collaborating in 2024.

A key aspect to better protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation is to deepen our understanding of the crime, perpetrator tactics and behaviour, and the lived experiences of victim-survivors.

ICMEC Australia is proud to have served as the gold sponsors for the inaugural Child Sexual Abuse Research Reduction Network’s (CSARRN) Workshop held this week in Adelaide. Driven by our mission to facilitate cross-sector collaboration and help build the capacity and capabilities of those within the industry, we are always looking for ways to support our stakeholders to meet their missions and outcomes. 

Sponsoring the inaugural CSARRN workshop provided a valuable opportunity for us to demonstrate our unwavering support for critical Australian research to uncover data-driven insights and evidence-based approaches, aimed at enhancing the protection of children from harm. 

Established in 2023 by a group of dedicated researchers committed to combating child sexual abuse, CSARRN’s inaugural workshop, hosted by the University of Adelaide, brought together key researchers and thought leaders from global institutions and Australia’s world-leading research teams. The event facilitated the sharing of work, the fostering of new collaborations, and the development of unified solutions to better address child sexual abuse.

Featuring informative sessions delving into the complexities of child sexual abuse and exploitation, the workshop covered various aspects of this heinous crime. As a key subject matter expert, our Head of Data Products, Warren Bulmer, was invited to present his research paper on DarkNet Child Exploitation Forums. Other topics discussed at the workshop included offending behaviours, investigative methods, advances in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, harmful sexual behaviours, and prevention initiatives.

With our work streams designed to seamlessly support projects and stakeholders collaboratively, this was an important event for our Head of Capacity and Prevention, Dannielle Kelly, and Head of Impact, Tiphanie Au, who represented the organisation at the workshop. In addition to enjoying the meaningful insights from presenters on a diverse range of research topics, it was a unique opportunity for them to network with a collective of like minded people committed to finding solutions to this crime.

We know that we need to work collaboratively to tackle these issues effectively, and our Capacity & Prevention and Impact streams combine to support the academic research that plays such a critical role in enhancing the protection of children. By forming new connections and having the potential for future partnerships with these academics leading their field, we hope that ground-breaking work of the future will emerge from this event to help the enhanced detection and prevention of CSE.

As the sponsor for the inaugural workshop we were delighted to support this worthwhile initiative, and we extend our gratitude to CSARRN for organising such an insightful event. We look forward to building on the relationships made and we are eagerly looking forward to further collaborating in 2024.

The most important consideration for the detection and prevention of child sexual exploitation (CSE) is the impact of this crime on the victim-survivors. Not just at the time or times it occurs, but well into the future.

The Australian Child Maltreatment Study (ACMS), released in April 2023, demonstrated the lasting emotional and psychological impacts child sexual abuse can have well into adulthood.
But this is only part of the story.

When a child experiences sexual exploitation, whether physically or online, the effects are wide-ranging and extend into many areas of their lives. Beyond the grievous psycho-social implications that stay with victim-survivors for a lifetime, there are also economic impacts for the child, their families, any future partners and children, and wider society.

By understanding the economic and broader implications of this crime, we can begin to see the true urgency of action needed.

In September we opened applications for Australian academics to submit their interest in conducting new research into the economic consequences and impacts of child sexual exploitation, particularly facilitated online.

With one of the most recent Australian studies into the economic costs of CSE being released in 2016/17, gaining current insight into this issue is well overdue and essential to informing our response as a sector.

We are delighted to announce that Dr Jonah Rimer, Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Convenor of Postgraduate Cyber Criminology at The University of Queensland, will lead the research for Phase One of a joint project with ICMEC Australia.

Dr Rimer is one of Australia’s most renowned academics in the child protection space. His skills and experience in researching the impacts of child sexual exploitation will result in an important piece of work that we hope will create greater awareness of the crime and facilitate broader engagement in a collaborative response.

Phase one of this multi-phase project will inform the future phases of the research.

This initial report will see the research team providing an outline of the different cost categories, components and sectors relevant to the financial impacts of CSE, particularly facilitated online.

“I envisage that this report will be helpful to a number of areas within the child protection sector.”-Dannielle Kelly, Head of Capacity and Prevention at ICMEC Australia.

“We aim to use this research for our own prevention purposes, building frameworks to further prevent exploitation, and determining key areas of focus for both awareness and deterrence measures.”

“And we will also look to share the findings with our key partners and stakeholders within the sector. Their work in advocating for the broad ranging and deep impacts of this crime will be boosted by the data and insights provided.”

Whilst the findings from this research will have benefits for many of those holding perceived traditional roles within the child protection space, the ripples of positive impact will also spread to other organisations and professionals who play a key part in detecting, reporting and preventing CSE facilitated online.

“I believe law enforcement, government, NGOs and our partners in academia will be able to use the findings and methods to better articulate future funding needs, where funding will be best placed, and to lobby government and donors for more spending in this area,” adds Dannielle.

“And our banking partners have already shown an interest in the potential for the research to give a quantitative number for the cost of the crime, allowing them to pitch their case for increased staffing and awareness in the financial crime portfolios.”

Partnering with such a respected institution as The University of Queensland on this project ensures the highest academic resources and access to some of the greatest minds in the space, especially Dr Rimer.

“For an important issue like this one, we need to get out of our silos, and partnerships between academia and leading agencies such as ICMEC Australia are crucial. I feel privileged to be working with ICMEC Australia on this research.”-Dr Jonah Rimer, Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Convenor of Postgraduate Cyber Criminology at The University of Queensland

“Analysing the effects and costs of CSE requires holistic, multifaceted thinking and a comprehensive approach. I hope to bring this to the project so that we can come to better understand the costs and impacts of CSE, including for victim-survivors, families, the justice system, relevant professional and private sectors, and broader society,” says Dr Rimer.

It’s an honour for ICMEC Australia to have the support and partnership of both Dr Rimer and The University of Queensland on Phase One of this much-needed research, kicking off an ongoing vital project that will help shape the broader community response to protecting children from harm.

The research is set to commence in January 2024 and will conclude approximately six months later.
We are looking forward to sharing the research findings with our stakeholders and the wider community later in 2024, ahead of planning for the future phases of the project.

By placing the victim-survivor at the centre of our work and finding as many ways as possible to understand the impacts of this serious crime, we can move closer to being able to prevent it in the first place.

A groundbreaking study confronting more uncomfortable truths surrounding child sexual abuse has just been released, titled Identifying and Understanding Child Sexual Offending Behaviour and Attitudes Among Australian Men. The study was produced by UNSW academics in association with the Australian Human Rights Institute and Jesuit Social Services’ child sexual abuse prevention service, Stop It Now! Australia, with Dr Michael Salter as the lead author. It was conducted online and anonymously between December 2022 and January 2023, and offers unprecedented insights into a dark corner of society that demands our attention.

The findings of this study are nothing short of shocking, revealing the disturbing prevalence of undetected child sexual abuse offending among Australian men. Within the study, approximately 1 in 6 men reported having sexual feelings towards children. A startling 6.7% of Australian men also knowingly viewed child sexual abuse material. Perhaps the most startling revelation though, is that 1 in 10 men stated they had sexually offended against a child, with around half of this group reporting that they experienced sexual feelings for children.

These findings are groundbreaking on a global level, and are particularly shocking because they relate to undetected child sexual abuse. The report further demonstrates what we have known anecdotally for years, that child sexual abuse is a crime of epidemic proportions. It exists in every corner of our communities, perpetrated by those we’d least suspect. This research highlights that Australia is not exempt from this heinous crime, and that it is occurring at a scale previously unknown. It’s a sobering indication that more needs to be done, and that preventing this crime must be a top priority.

The research findings indicate that those most likely to perpetrate this crime exhibit similar characteristics. They are more likely to be married with a higher household income over $150,000, they often work with children, they have generally experienced higher rates of childhood abuse (sexual, physical, and emotional), will often engage in increased alcohol and drug use, they have a preference for encrypted online services and will often own and use cryptocurrency, with a number admitting to consuming deviant and violent pornography, whilst tending to deny the harm caused in the sexual abuse of a child.

The study’s conclusions are both stark and urgent, emphasising the critical need for early intervention services and preventative initiatives. The research points to several areas that could inform primary prevention work, including recognising child maltreatment and violence against women as social determinants of child sexual abuse, improving community attitudes and understanding of the signifiant harm of child sexual abuse, addressing unsafe online services and products, building safety into online romance and dating sites, regulating pornography (especially violent and deviant content), and promoting and maintaining child-safe institutions.

This vital piece of work validates many of the victim-survivor stories that we have so often heard, indicating that many perpetrators have cultivated good social standing within the community, underscoring the need more than ever for a collective effort across stakeholders – policymakers, financial institutions, NGOs, law enforcement, the tech industry, and regulators.

ICMEC Australia is committed to a world where children are free from abuse and exploitation, and facilitating cross-industry collaboration is the cornerstone of bringing this mission to life.

The online world is evolving at a rapid pace, and this transformation extends to payment behaviours. Banking is no longer restricted solely to traditional financial institutions. The entire consumer experience is undergoing a shift as our online presence grows, and the need for conventional payment methods diminishes. However, just like any other technological advancement, this evolution opens the door for illicit activity. Our borderless society means that we exist in a connected ecosystem of rapid innovation, but this also exposes vulnerable individuals to various threats in the online world. 

One significant development in recent times is the rise of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies – such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple – are digital currencies that use cryptography for security. They operate on a technology known as the blockchain, which is a decentralised and distributed digital ledger that records transactions taking place between computers without a typical central authority like a financial institution. Each translation on the blockchain is secured by cryptographic hashes, and linked to the previous transaction, to create a chain of blocks – hence, the “blockchain”. 

The innate characteristics of cryptocurrencies, decentralisation and advanced encryption, a perceived sense of anonymity, automation, and speed that payments can be made, make these payment types attractive to perpetrators of child sexual exploitation facilitated online. This adds yet another layer to the difficulties in detecting and eliminating technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation – especially for financial institutions and law enforcement. 

For financial institutions, the rise in prominence of cryptocurrencies poses some significant difficulties. Traditional methods of detection and reporting differ when it comes to the blockchain. The anonymity provided by these digital currencies compounds the necessity for effective strategies for detecting, reporting, and preventing this abhorrent crime. 

But, cryptocurrency is not completely anonymous or untraceable. Research is already showing us that this payment form is being used by offenders of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The Internet Watch Foundation reported that the number of child sexual abuse websites accepting cryptocurrency as payment for illicit material had more than doubled from 2021 to 2022 – with over 1,000 sites of the 250,000 identified accepting digital payments. And despite perpetrators of child sexual exploitation opting to use Blockchain to elude detection, law enforcement agencies all over the globe are finding ways to locate them. The ‘Welcome to Video’ case is a clear example of this and saw law enforcement in the United States take down a large child abuse site by ‘following the money’, as with any financial crime – except ‘the money’ was on the blockchain.

As a response community, the development of new technologies means that compliance and monitoring mechanisms must be updated to maintain pace with technological developments. We need to consider the integration of blockchain analysis tools, and enhance our understanding of offender behaviour and indicators of suspicious transactions to create a holistic response to this crime. Collaboration between financial institutions, technology experts, and regulatory authorities are crucial to developing an enhanced response to online child sexual exploitation. 

There is also a growing need for international cooperation when it comes to regulation and responding to this crime, particularly when considering how cryptocurrencies work. The borderless nature of both technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and the blockchain, enables payments to be made from one country for the abuse of a child in another. Financial institutions play a pivotal role in supporting the efforts to combat this crime. And by maintaining best practice methods and investing in cutting-edge technology to ultimately stay ahead of the offenders of this heinous crime, we can protect more children from harm. 

Already, navigating a comprehensive response to child sexual exploitation that prioritises the safety of children above all else is challenging. But with the increase in prominence of cryptocurrencies, the ways that the response community ‘follows the money’ may become increasingly difficult. By keeping up with the changes in this area, and understanding the complexities of this technology, we can better equip ourselves to protect children from abuse and exploitation.

Enhancing our understanding in this area is critical. Luke McGoldrick of Chainalysis will present an informative analysis of the intersection of cryptocurrencies and child sexual exploitation at our upcoming Monthly Brown Bag on Tuesday 28 November at 12:30pm. This is the final Monthly Brown Bag of 2023 and an essential topic for those who are fighting against this crime. To make sure you don’t miss out on this topical discussion, register here.

When it comes to keeping children safe, it’s essential we pool our resources and capabilities to deliver our most robust response. In late October we hosted our inaugural Financial Symposium, which shone a light on the critical need for collaboration in the battle against child sexual abuse and exploitation. With nearly 100 key stakeholders joining together from various sectors of financial institutions, including financial crime, corporate affairs, and social impact teams, the event illuminated the pressing need for united action in protecting children.  

The Symposium featured expert speakers who delved into emerging trends in child exploitation crimes. They provided invaluable insights for financial institutions, outlining practical measures to implement protocols and risk mitigation in their organisations. The event underscored the complexity of fighting against child sexual exploitation and abuse, emphasising that this daunting task transcends industry boundaries and permeates all aspects of our community.

We have the right people here today to fill us with hope… and to help build a safer world for children through our already world-leading financial and payments services in Australia.– Anna Bowden (CEO, ICMEC Australia)

Eliminating child sexual exploitation and abuse from our society, and keeping children safe, is a mammoth task. And this work extends beyond one industry. It has touch points across our whole society, requiring the facilitation of collaboration and information sharing to help key industry professionals protect children, a role that is central to our work at ICMEC Australia. This is especially true when it comes to following the online financial footprint of this crime. The regulatory obligations for financial institutions with respect to this crime are extensive. And for smaller financial institutions, it can be difficult to effectively apply their limited resources to best protect children at the same time as meeting reporting requirements. 

The Symposium provided a platform for professionals from diverse backgrounds across Australia to engage in important discussions. Witnessing this collaborative effort was a stark reminder that the fight against child sexual abuse cannot be won by a single entity alone, and we were inspired by the positive feedback and proud of the essential conversations taking place on the day. 

Operating under the Chatham House Rule, the event facilitated candid discussions among changemakers within the financial sector. All the presentations and panels emphasised a fundamental truth: children deserve the highest level of protection, and combating this heinous crime demands a robust collaborative response.

Throughout the day, we were confronted with the harsh realities of technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation, a topic often omitted from public discourse. The Symposium highlighted that behind every suspicious matter report, every image, and every video, there exists a real child whose life has been irrevocably altered. The responsibility to protect these vulnerable children rests on society as a whole, emphasising the urgency for unwavering commitment to this cause.

As a relatively new organisation with a small team of experts, we are acutely aware that we cannot do this work without the support of a considerable number of passionate and committed individuals. We are grateful for the efforts of many who lean into this work, and the Symposium was the perfect opportunity to launch our Illuminate Program. Aptly named because this is a crime that thrives in the dark, the program will serve to recognise those who go above and beyond to help shine a light and protect children from harm.

We launched the program by honouring our first ICMEC Australia Ally, Jeremy Moller, Senior Advisor and Lawyer (Special Counsel), Risk Advisory at Norton Rose Fulbright. Jeremy has contributed many hours in an advisory capacity and has been a key supporter of our journey for almost five years. Instrumental in the establishment of the ICMEC Australia office, Jeremy has been a constant advocate and contributor to our work since. The Financial Symposium would not have been the success it was without his considerable input. We thank Jeremy for his tireless efforts and for graciously accepting this inaugural position, which will see him continue to support our work into the future.

Our inaugural Financial Symposium ultimately served as a beacon of hope, uniting stakeholders in a collective pledge to prioritise a strong response to this crime and create a safer future for all children, everywhere. This inspiring day illuminated the complex path forward, one paved with collaboration, awareness, innovation and an unyielding dedication to the protection of our children.

Tackling society’s most wicked problems is something that concerns many business leaders. And there are few more wicked than the online sexual exploitation of children. Offenders hide in the depths of the dark web – as well as the clear web – and sell, purchase, and trade illicit child sexual abuse material. Each image and video is a crime scene, and harms an innocent child.

When child sexual exploitation is facilitated online, it adds another level of difficulty to the detection of this crime, which offenders aim to capitalise in their ruthless attempts to harm and abuse children. But, contrary to common perception, this crime is not undetectable, creating many traceable digital footprints – including within financial systems. 

Finding ways to connect these digital footprints is essential to identifying perpetrators, and makes cross-industry collaboration a key weapon in the fight against child sexual exploitation. Financial institutions play a vital role in responding to this crime, not only by collaborating with other key industries like law enforcement, government, regulators, and not-for-profits, but within their own organisation across various teams. Whilst technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation is a responsibility for financial crimes teams, ensuring that financial institutions meet their regulatory obligations, it’s also a prominent human rights concern that should be embedded in an ESG team’s priorities. 

In today’s digital age, where technology facilitates both progress and peril, there is an expectation and a responsibility for financial institutions to ensure the safety of their customers of all ages. As offenders are relentless in their attempts to reach children, and the capabilities of the online world diversify, financial institutions play a pivotal role in safeguarding our society’s most vulnerable from abuse and exploitation. 

This crime has many touch points across various industries, which means the response must be all-encompassing. No one organisation can do this alone. And the pivotal role of financial institutions in ‘following the money’ can significantly shift the needle in identifying perpetrators and locating their victims.

Whilst financial institution analysts employ sophisticated methods in detecting CSE-related transactions within their systems, their almost innocuous nature can make it like looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack. And the ever-evolving perpetrator tactics means that continual training and the adoption of new tools are necessary aspects of this work. Employing the regulated techniques and taking a proactive approach to detecting this crime can both mitigate the risk to an institution, and help law enforcement save more children from harm.

But a comprehensive response to online child sexual exploitation must involve teams from all corners of a financial institution – from financial crimes to risk mitigation, human rights & ESG to corporate affairs. When all these teams incorporate the detection, reporting and prevention of CSE into their work, it can contribute to a financial institution’s overall positive social impact. By elevating awareness across the whole organisation it can inspire teams to find sustainable, meaningful solutions across the board that can lead to the detection and ultimately the prevention of this heinous crime. This is where inter- and intra-organisation collaborative approaches are critical.

Collaboration is the backbone to fighting against child sexual exploitation. Financial institutions work closely with law enforcement, government, regulators, and NGOs to efficiently and effectively identify evidence of child sexual exploitation. These partnerships form a strong network of industries committed to protecting children and prosecuting offenders. Creating an expanded organisational focus on CSE can lead to even better partnerships outside of the organisation, and ultimately yield better outcomes for children. 

At ICMEC Australia, we understand that collaboration amplifies our ability to enhance the detection, reporting, prosecution, and prevention of child sexual exploitation. We exist to help our stakeholders engaged in child protection to increase their capacity to detect CSE and collaborate with one another to prevent this heinous crime. 

Our upcoming Financial Symposium is taking place on Wednesday 25th October, and will bring together leaders from all facets of financial institutions who all have a role to play in fighting this crime. An exclusive event for financial institutions, the Symposium will include a comprehensive program where experts in the CSE response ecosystem will share their key insights for financial services organisations to bolster their capabilities to detect and report CSE transactions. 

With collaboration being so important to the success of combating this crime, this will be the perfect opportunity to forge key industry connections and partner to save children from abuse and exploitation.

Over the last two years ICMEC Australia has achieved a great deal in what could be termed our startup period. 

Founding a new entity in Australia, even one that comes with an international pedigree, means being focused on establishing systems and processes, building the right team and developing strong connections in the local sector. 

Having fulfilled these important foundations with the help of a vast network of stakeholders who have been willing to lean in on our important mission, we are now ready to move to the next phase of realising some ambitious outcomes aimed at helping to detect, report, prosecute and prevent child sexual exploitation (CSE) facilitated online. 

We’re incredibly fortunate, by design, to have one of Australia’s leading experts in outcomes measurement and evaluation on the team, who will be taking the lead in optimising the delivery of impact across our organisation. 

We’re excited to announce that Tiphanie Au has transitioned her role from Head of Child Protection Fund (CPF) to Head of Impact, expanding her investment and funding portfolio to include our organisation’s overall impact strategy, measurement and reporting. Not only will this allow us to demonstrate how we add value, but it will also ensure that we are directing our efforts in the right places and that we are focused on the important things that can help shift the needle further on saving children from harm. 

Tiphanie’s work with the CPF will remain an important part of her role and our organisation, including more targeted funding to catalyse collaborative data, technological and/or preventative solutions that directly align with the priorities of our work streams and theory of change. 

Tiphanie will also be working with our in-house teams and external stakeholders to commission valuable research to strengthen the knowledge and evidence-base of CSE and support a coherent and collaborative approach to tackling this heinous crime. 

This is an exciting phase for the organisation as we embed our mission more deeply through enhanced programs and projects built on the solid foundations of a well-designed impact measurement and evaluation framework.

We extend our congratulations to Tiphanie on her new role and look forward to sharing our future impact reports.

Earlier this month, Australia recognised National Child Protection Week. It was a key reminder for us all that every child, in every community, deserves a fair go. For ICMEC Australia and our stakeholders, every week is about child protection. Keeping children safe is at the heart of the work that we do collectively across the child protection space.

Our National Child Protection Week campaign involved a series of resources highlighting aspects of a new book by Madonna King called Saving Our Kids, which delves into the difficult crime of online child sexual exploitation (CSE) and was published late last month. It’s a powerful book that sheds light on the darkness of this crime, sharing how important our response is to saving children from harm. Written in collaboration with ICMEC Australia Non-Executive Director and retired Detective Inspector, Jon Rouse APM, the book features several ICMEC Australia team members and shows how this crime is escalating with the aid of rapidly evolving technology.

As a team we’re collectively passionate about protecting children from harm, each of us combining our individual skills to further our mission to support our industry stakeholders to fight this crime. We all have deeply personal reasons for wanting to make a change, below we examine why some of our key team members are compelled to do the work they do. 

Offenders are continuously working to manipulate any mechanism or online platform that enables their ability to harm children. In the 2021-22 financial year, the ACCCE Child Protection Triage Unit received more than 36,000 reports of child sexual exploitation. The sexual exploitation of children, facilitated online, has real life consequences and cannot be ignored. 

However, the true extent of this crime may never be known. It impacts so many young people, many of whom are unable to report at the time of their abuse. On average, it takes 24 years for a victim-survivor to disclose, which is why it’s so important to keep the victim-survivor voice at the centre of navigating our response. 

This is a guiding light for ICMEC Australia’s CEO Anna Bowden. A victim-survivor herself, Anna continuously emphasises the importance of supporting survivors, and that our work must centre around preventing children from being abused and exploited. 

“I am driven to help give victim-survivors a voice where they can’t find their own. The man who abused me is now behind bars decades later, but it wasn’t my voice who put him there. Our work helps to find the evidence that speaks on behalf of the victims of this horrific crime.”  – Anna Bowden, CEO, ICMEC Australia

Understanding the extent to which children are abused and exploited is shocking and confronting, but this means that our work as a response community is critical. One in four Australians have experienced child sexual abuse (ACMS 2023). We cannot ignore the extent of this crime. Research shows that on average, 26% of victim-survivors of child sexual abuse never disclose the abuse. 

ICMEC Australia’s Head of Capacity and Prevention, Dannielle Kelly, understands this from her many years working in the child protection space. 

“I speak out for all the little people who can’t. If we don’t fight for them…who will?” – Danielle Kelly, Head of Capacity and Prevention, ICMEC Australia

This is what drives Dannielle’s work with stakeholders in Law Enforcement, NGOs and academia. By working collaboratively, and supporting the work of other organisations in the sector, we can create a more comprehensive response to this crime.

ICMEC Australia’s work focuses on supporting cross-industry data and technology solutions to help prevent technology-assisted child sexual exploitation. By facilitating our stakeholders to build their capacity in fighting this crime, we can help to improve the reporting, detection, prosecution and prevention of child sexual exploitation. Our Head of Child Protection Fund, Tiphanie Au, who is experienced in social impact investing, is particularly drawn to disrupting this crime through data-driven solutions. 

“All social problems are hard, but when children are involved, it pulls on the heart. Child exploitation is very confronting and until I began working in the field, I was not aware of the scale of the problem. Now it’s what gets me up in the morning and drives me to work so hard in this role.”– Tiphanie Au, Head of Child Protection Fund, ICMEC Australia

To help financial intelligence teams pinpoint more transactions linked to child sexual exploitation and shift the needle on protecting children, the ICMEC Australia Data Products team is developing a first of its kind product in Australia. This product will help enhance the detection of suspicious transactions of child sexual exploitation as they leave their financial footprint across the internet. 

Our Head of Data Products, Warren Bulmer, has had a formidable career in law enforcement and product ownership that’s an incredible asset to our work.  His experience on the frontline fighting this crime, alongside law enforcement officers from all over the world, has seen many victims identified and children rescued from harm all over the world.

Our data-driven solutions can only contribute to the enhanced detection, reporting, prosecution and prevention of CSE with the support of our stakeholders, in particular in financial crime. Our Head of Collaboration, Rosie Campo, works tirelessly with key leaders in financial institutions to ensure that we understand their needs and can facilitate the right solutions to help them with their work. 

“I am working to protect children as I believe we should protect the vulnerable from a crime that ultimately destroys their innocence and childhood. Every child deserves to grow up being a kid and we have the opportunity to help them have that by working together to fight CSE.” – Rosie Campo, Head of Collaboration, ICMEC Australia

The team at ICMEC Australia is dedicated to making the world a safer place for young people by partnering to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation. And we know that no one organisation can do this alone. 

Let’s continue working together to fight against this heinous crime and keep our children safe.

A child can never give consent. The sexual abuse of a child is just that – abuse. This abhorrent crime must be called what it is and we need to begin with the foundations, by ensuring that the correct terminology is entrenched in our legislation.

We may not realise it, but the words we use when we speak about child sexual abuse have immense power. They can change our perception as a society about this issue, and they can either shame or empower a victim-survivor of this crime.

Our general discomfort with the topic of child sexual abuse has historically led to the use of language which deprioritises the safety of children in Australia’s legislation. The State and Territory laws are inconsistent in their definitions, with many states having referred to the ‘persistent sexual abuse of a child’ as a ‘relationship’.

Recognising the harm and stigma that this causes victim-survivors, The Grace Tame Foundation launched their ‘Harmony Campaign’ in February 2022, which is aimed at making child sexual abuse laws consistent across all jurisdictions in Australia. The disparities around the age of consent, the definition of sexual intercourse, what consent is and grooming, as well as the language used to describe the crime, trivialise the experiences of victims and are often exploited by perpetrators.

The former Australian of the Year has been relentless in her pursuit of these changes, seeing success across the country in how State and Territory legislation refers to the crime. As at August 2023, the word ‘relationship’ has been removed nationwide from the heading of the criminal offence of the ‘persistent sexual abuse of a child’. This is a significant achievement, and the first step towards their aim of removing the word ‘relationship’ from all parts of the offence of child sexual abuse in every jurisdiction.

“Softened wording doesn’t reflect the gravity of the crime, it feeds into victim-blaming attitudes, eases the conscience of perpetrators and gives license to characterise abuse as romance.”

The Grace Tame Foundation, Harmony Campaign

Grace Tame has been a powerful advocate for the voice of victim-survivors of child sexual abuse, reminding us through her tireless work that children deserve our commitment to protecting them from harm. Despite how confronting this crime is, we need to engage in public conversations in a mindful and trauma-informed way to remove the stigma surrounding the issue. With the Australian Child Maltreatment Study revealing that 28.5% of Australians have experienced child sexual abuse, this epidemic is not something that we can ignore. It may be difficult to speak about, but children need us to lean into the discomfort to both acknowledge the pain and trauma of victim-survivors and prevent more children from being abused.

With recent high profile media cases shing a spotlight on the issue of child sexual abuse we are currently experiencing an increase in the public conversation surrounding the issue, particularly relating to changes we need to make to current systems in order to protect children from abuse and exploitation. An increase in discourse means an increase in the need for a better understanding of how we refer to this abuse, and how that discussion impacts victim-survivors. The new reporting guidelines for media reporting on child sexual abuse, developed for the National Office for Child Safety (NOCS) are designed to keep the victim-survivor voice at the centre of this topic.

The work of The Grace Tame Foundation affirms just how important, and guiding, the victim-survivor voice is in shaping both our response to and perception of child sexual abuse.

Whether you have an active role in child protection, you’re a parent, you work in the child care sector, or simply as a member of society, we can all play an active role in supporting victim-survivors. And the easiest to do this is by engaging in meaningful public discourse using the most appropriate language. In 2016 ‘The Terminology Guidelines for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse’ were adopted in Luxembourg, establishing a global standard for terminology in relation to child sexual abuse. This is a helpful and comprehensive guide used by many organisations involved in working against this crime. ICMEC Australia has created a simple summary of these global standards for those who would like to start the process of better understanding the correct terminology.

We are encouraged by the achievements of The Grace Tame Foundation in championing the rights of victim-survivors of child sexual abuse. Every milestone that is documented in the media creates more public awareness of this crime. But their Harmony Campaign is not finished. Laws in most states and territories across Australia (except Victoria and Western Australia) continue to use the term ‘relationship’ in other parts of the offence legislation. Using trauma-informed language is essential in helping children feel safe and supported enough to report abuse and to recognise harmful behaviour. It takes champions like Grace Tame to share the victim-survivor voice. Now let’s work together to help her and other advocates remove the stigma that has surrounded sexual abuse and exploitation for too long.

If you, or anyone you know, needs help, find support services available here.