The online coercion and extortion of children, often referred to as ‘sextortion’ or ‘webcam blackmailing’, is a form of digital blackmail where sexual information or images are used to extort sexual material, sexual favours or money.
When targeting a minor, offenders have two main motivations:
- A sexual interest in children,where the objective of the extortive exchange is the procurement of sexual material (photos and/or videos depicting the child) or a sexual encounter offline;
- An economic interest, where the objective is to gain financially from the extortion.
Based upon information collected by the US National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline, Europol’s report reveals that female child victims are being blackmailed more significantly for sexually explicit material (84%) compared to their male counterparts (53%). The latter are more so targeted for financial gain (32% compared to 2% for female child victims), a relatively new trend in the field of online child sexual abuse.
In response the European law enforcement community has joined forces with partners from the private sector to launch a campaign, #Say NO”, supported by Europol, to give advice to those who have been, or are likely to be targeted, and to strengthen reporting and support mechanisms.
The campaign includes a short film, which helps people to recognise a potential sextortion approach, provides online advice and highlights the importance of reporting the crime to the competent national authorities.
Europol’s message to those who are targeted is ‘don’t pay and don’t feel embarrassed to report it to the police’. If someone threatens you with sharing sexual photos or videos of you unless you send them more or pay them money, follow these steps:
- Don’t share more, don’t pay anything.
- Look for help. You are not alone.
- Preserve evidence. Don’t delete anything.
- Stop the communication. Block the person.
- Report it to the police.
You can watch the UK version of the #SayNo film here.
You can visit the Europol #SayNo website here.
