CRIME INVESTIGATIONS OF ‘CHILD ABUSE MATERIAL’: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES POSED BY DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

Sexual abuse and sexual exploitation are some of the most awful acts that a child can be exposed to and constitute serious crimes (Eneman, 2005). The increased digitalisation of society has profoundly changed the circumstances for people with a sexual interest in children to engage in the production, distribution and consumption of child abuse material. In addition, digital technologies enable contact and communication with other like-minded individuals sharing the same sexual interest in children and also facilitate new forms of getting in contact with children (potential victims) (Davidson & Bifulco, 2018). Child abuse material (sometimes also referred to as child pornography) refers to documented material depicting the sexual abuse and/or sexual exploitation of a child (or children). The presence of child sexual abuse and child abuse material in our society constitute serious, global and growing challenges for law enforcement agencies, not least due to technological innovations and advancements.