Sexual violence against children in the digital space

Publisher: World Vision Deutschland e. V.
Authors: Dr Ekkardt Sonntag, Prof. Dr Caterina Rohde-Abuba, Kristina Kreuzer

The digital revolution has created entirely new living conditions and risks for children, which differ from those experienced by older generations. Even today’s generation of parents, some of whom might see themselves as “digital natives”, are quickly being left behind by the ever-evolving developments, especially in the area of social media and online gaming. Globally, one in three users of the Internet is a child and it is precisely children who are constantly exploring new digital frontiers. In doing so, they swiftly move across national borders, just like the Internet itself. The dangers they face are global in nature and can only be solved through cross-border research and international cooperation.

This is why, for the purposes of this research, we worked in collaboration with our partner offices in India, the Philippines and Thailand. Through their programme work in the area of sexual violence online, they have developed a high level of expertise and are thus ideal partners for harnessing the opportunities of postcolonial development cooperation: learning from and with each other on an equal footing.

Based on qualitative expert interviews and interviews with affected children, this study initially attempts to identify and explore various forms of sexual violence against children online as well as the contexts in which it occurs. As part of this, the study also explores the influence of the pandemic, as a result of which children’s daily lives have shifted more towards the digital realm. Finally, the study examines what needs-based prevention and assistance for affected children might look like, and what roles politicians, law enforcement agencies, the children themselves, their social environment, and internet platform providers can play.