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In today’s digitally advanced society, children can access the online world with unparalleled ease. With a few clicks of a mouse or a swipe of a phone screen, they can virtually connect with friends from the comfort of their bedrooms – and people can connect with them too.
Sexual extortion, or sextortion, is a form of online blackmail in which someone tricks or coerces a person into sending sexual images of themselves, then threatens to share the photos if the person does not comply with their demands – usually for more images, payment, or sexual favours. This scam has rapidly become a critical child safety issue, with a recent Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) study reporting that one in ten Australian adolescents said that someone had sexually extorted them for money or more intimate material.
Our March Brown Bag, presented by Dr Heather Wolbers, Principal Research Analyst at AIC, will explore key findings from two new research reports examining adolescents’ experience of sextortion. The studies reveal the serious and varied short- and long-term effects of sextortion, highlighting the support needs of victim-survivors and the urgency of targeted approaches to reduce this crime.
Your speaker
Dr Heather Wolbers is a Principal Research Analyst in the Australian Institute of Criminology’s (AIC) Online Sexual Exploitation of Children Research Program. She has undertaken research within the fields of family and sexual violence, the online sexual exploitation of children, and serious and organised crime. Heather holds a Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice (with Honours), a Bachelor of Forensic Science, and a PhD in Criminology from Griffith University
Event details
26 March 2025
Wednesday
12:30pm – 1:30pm
AEDT / Sydney
11:30am – 12:30pm AEST / Brisbane time
9:30am – 10:30am AWST / Perth time
Online event
via Microsoft teams
Registration
For more details on ICMEC Australia's events, visit our industry events page below.
ICMEC Australia acknowledges Traditional Owners throughout Australia and their continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and Elders past and present.
