According to lthe latest Telefono Azzurro dossier today it is estimated that in Europe one child in 5 has been a victim of sexual violence. And according to the latest data fromInternet Watch Foundation2023 was the year the presence of images of sexual abuse of minors on the web has reached its maximum. The Institute evaluated 392,665 reports confirming that 275,652 web pages contained images or videos of children victims of sexual abuse.
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“Today the process of entry of children not only into the networkbut in a complex, pervasive world that constantly changes development processes at breakneck speed, it is increasingly early – he comments Ernesto Caffo, psychiatrist and founder of Telefono Azzurro -. The growth of children takes place towards new channels never before considered as an element of life, today an integral part of their identity, children become digital subjects, with limited contact with the world of traditional relationships, which are very important. In this sentence the adult world has not yet developed support measures adequate. We need to frequent these digital places that they frequent and get to know them and we should start to understand what will happen in the immediate future, but this is very difficult.”
Worrying is theincrease in images of abuse created with artificial intelligence. Since the beginning of 2023, reports in this regard have been increasingly numerous, as revealed by the same investigation by the Internet Watch Foundation, which also revealed the existence of online manuals to help criminals perfect the training techniques of intelligence systems artificial with the aim of returning results that are as realistic as possible. The landscape of abuse is vast and insidious, from the financial exploitation of children through online requests for money, to the clueless and unethical trade in images of child abuse (Csam – Child sexual abuse material) generated increasingly through the use of artificial intelligence up to grooming, or the solicitation of minors for sexual purposes. According to the report, in just one month, 20,254 images generated by artificial intelligence were published in a CSAM forum on the dark web. Of these, 11,108 contained child pornography.
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“The most worrying thing is that we don’t see the complex aspects completely yet without control tools – adds Caffo -: children live from very young ages on platforms that adults do not frequent. It is difficult to establish rules; we are talking about global platforms and they move from one to another quickly, without however having the tools to manage their contents. There is a need for collective reflection on this.”
He reports
For this reason, on the occasion of the National Day for the fight against pedophilia and child pornography, last May 5, the SOS Telefono Azzurro Ets Foundation in collaboration with the Italian Embassy to the Holy See and the Child Foundation, presented the report “The dignity of children in the digital world“.
“Several countries – adds the psychiatrist – such as the United Kingdom for example, are already moving to address the worrying growth of material C’mon generated by artificial intelligence, making it a crime to generate online tools that create this type of abusive material. A theme of great relevance when it comes to Csam is self-produced material. The self-production of abusive material by adolescents it has increased over time and has involved children at an increasingly early age. If previously the phenomenon mainly concerned pre-adolescents, data collected by the Internet Watch Foundation show a significant increase in this type of images depicting even very young children, aged between 7 and 10 (+67% compared to 2022, ndr)”.
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Telefono Azzurro data
In 2023, the 114 Childhood Emergency Service of Telefono Azzurro recorded a 2.5% increase compared to the previous year of cases managed with reasons relating to sexual abuse (164), with an average of over 13 cases managed per month. In 29% of cases the situations reported arise and persist online (+3 cases compared to the previous year). In 90% of the cases handled, minors are involved in the role of victims, in 6% of perpetrators and in 4% in that of witnesses. 61% of the minors involved are female. The regions from which the most requests for help were received are primarily from Veneto (18%), Lazio (16%) and Lombardy (16%).
The reasons for online sexual abuse cases are: CSAM (40.3%), sextortion (34.3%), grooming (13.4%), sexting (7.5%) and sexual harassment (4.5%). ). In the case of online sexual abuse, it is noted that 51% of the minors involved are male.
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“It is necessary to systematize all the country’s resources starting from the institutions, the academic world, civil society and all the actors involved, with the common objective of protect the dignity and right to safety of every individual through concrete solutions to address abuse in all its forms, including the most insidious ones that often hide on the internet – concludes Caffo -. Since technology, and especially generative AI, is constantly evolving, the full extent of the implications it may have for abuse cannot be predicted. To keep up with the times, it is essential to monitor new developments and address emerging threats as quickly as possible in order to better protect minors and adolescents. It is also essential that all signatory countries truly commit to comply with the Lanzarote Convention to prevent all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse against minors through training, prevention, digital education and protection initiatives”.
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