*Warning: This article discusses child sexual abuse
Across the globe, online child sexual abuse is increasing. Authorities point to coronavirus lockdowns as a contributing factor, as children spend more time online they may become vulnerable to grooming and abuse.
During the period of 2019-2020, the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) received of child abuse material. In Victoria alone, more than 7.4 million files of child abuse material were detected in May 2020, a twofold increase from the previous year.
Just as COVID-19 increased the amount of CSAM on the web, it reduced the number of reports to police. Lockdowns created new obstacles for victims and their guardians to report offences and seek support, according to .
The Trace an Object initiative takes a unique approach to tackling CSAM. It directs the attention of internet sleuths to identify specific objects found in abuse imagery, such as a piece of clothing or furniture, whilst obscuring the victim. The result - people from all over the world volunteer their time, knowledge and investigative prowess to identify objects and hopefully narrow the location of where the abuse took place.
The ACCCE released nine photos of objects on their site, thought to be from the Asia Pacific region, earlier this year.
AFP Commander Hilda Sirec said, “Whilst we are comfortable that these images relate to Australia and Asia Pacific, a lot of images we have to trawl through we don’t know where the country of origin is so we can’t identify where the victims literally are.”
The ACCCE released nine photos of objects on their site, thought to be from the Asia Pacific region. Source: ACCCE
The goal of this initiative is to identify as much information about the object as possible, such as the brand, model, stockists and shipping information.
Commander Sirec says this information could help them ‘find the missing piece of the puzzle’.
“If we get some specificity around the images that we’ve released under Trace an Object then we can link it to some of the information we already possess from the objects that are in the image that we aren’t showing,” she said.
“We use all the pieces of information to triangulate where the victim would be. Or even where the perpetrator is.” Since the initiative launched, the ACCCE has received over 340 tips relating to the images.
The ACCCE welcomes tips from anonymous sources, understanding that the average citizens who volunteer their time do not want their real names connected to child sexual abuse.
One of the internet sleuths volunteering his time on this project belongs to the . The subreddit discusses images released by ACCCE, Europol and the FBI.
Reddit user jpapa98 from the United States stumbled onto the Trace an Object initiative while scrolling through Reddit during a university lecture.
“I work a full-time job, go to college, have tons of homework. I don’t have a lot of time to devote to this. I just scroll through, see if I recognise anything,” he told SBS Dateline.
After spending three hours on the subreddit, he managed to identify the writing on a bracelet and submit the information to the FBI’s Endangered Child Alert Program.
“I took a very algorithmic approach to solving the bracelet,” he said.
FBI Item OB00: 18-MAR-2021 Unknown bracelet. Source: Supplied
“You could definitely see it says LE GEEK at the end. So my thought process was there’s definitely a word in front of it and it’s going to end in LE. So I looked up a list of words ending in LE and threw them into Google.”
This method, however, wasn’t working. So jpapa98 returned to the subreddit to see what other ideas the community offered.
“Someone said that it actually starts with a hashtag, which I hadn’t noticed. So it being a hashtag changes it because you can look on places that use hashtags. Google doesn’t care about hashtags. But Twitter and Instagram do.”
Using Instagram, jpapa98 identified the writing on the bracelet as #HandleGeek and submitted the tip to the FBI.
He stressed collaboration with other users was vital in figuring it out.
The Trace an Object subreddit has over 75 thousand users.
The online community share ideas, tips and congratulations whenever an object is identified and reported to relevant authorities.
“It’s a great cause. If people can crowdsource their time to figure something out and help these children or whoever, it’s a good thing,” he said.
“The entire weight of the United States FBI couldn’t figure it out. But a couple of redditors on the internet on a Thursday night could. So every little bit helps.”
A suggestion he has for authorities is to release multiple angles of each object.
“The shirt one, we’d had the bad angle for [a while] and once we got the good angle, people made the process almost instantly,” he said, referring to a picture of a shirt that ACCCE released two images of.
The first image obscured half of the design. The second image, released two weeks later, showed the design in full which enabled redditors to identify the photo on the shirt.
These tips are sent to the police’s victim identity unit specialists to triage and develop further.
ACCCE Report: 2101010. The organisation first released halve the image of the shirt, then the full print. Source: Dateline
Identifying objects also helps to , allowing police to focus on other leads.
Since it began in 2017, the Europol Trace an Object initiative has received , identified 102 objects, prosecuted three offenders and removed ten children from harm. “We’re hoping that we will get just as much success,” said Commander Sirec.
Readers seeking support can contact Lifeline crisis support on 13 11 14, Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged 5 to 25). More information is available at and kidshelpline.com.au.
Anyone seeking information or support relating to sexual abuse can contact Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, Blue Knot on 1300 657 380 or 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732. In an emergency call 000.
