National director of Ecpat Child Alert Eleanor Parkes told the Herald the organisation was concerned about growing evidence that people who access child sex abuse material online were increasingly seeking more extreme forms of content.
“We’re seeing indications that some users develop a form of tolerance,” Parkes said, “which can lead to a search for more explicit, violent or younger-age material.
“While this does not apply to everyone, the pattern is clear: as harmful consumption becomes habitual, the demand for more extreme material increases, fuelling further harm to victims and making rehabilitation more difficult once offending is established.”
Parkes said Ecpat believed addressing the issue needs a prevention-first, public health approach, not just a criminal justice response.
“The most effective interventions focus on stopping the harm before it occurs, when people are first becoming concerned about their sexual preferences or the content they are consuming.”
Ecpat’s key priorities include public health and stigma reduction to increase the visibility of help-seeking services and give individuals access to support before offending, and digital literacy and prevention education in order to promote healthy online behaviour from an early age.
Parkes also said early identification and referral is key so there are clear pathways to refer someone showing concerning online behaviour, and accessible therapeutic options to provide confidential and evidence-based interventions for those worried about their online behaviour.
Finally, Epcat said continued research and monitoring is needed with part of this being strengthening collaboration between law enforcement and organisations to help track evolving trends and improve prevention responses.
“Waiting until someone is caught is too late,” said Parkes, “both for those individuals and for the children being exploited.”
