Submitted by crinadmin on
[9 February 2007] - The child pornography ring recently intercepted in Austria once again exposes the extent and severity of sexual crimes against children. Child abuse videos of children as young as five who have been victims of extreme forms of sexual violence have been uncovered in 77 countries worldwide. Information is now available detailing the number of suspects, countries involved, and mechanism used to transfer and facilitate access to the videos. Alarmingly, there has been little mention regarding any efforts being made to identify and rescue the children whose torment can be seen and heard in these materials. ECPAT International Executive Director, Carmen Madrinan, says that “ECPAT is urging that the same level of international cooperation that is being demonstrated for the investigation and identification of perpetrators, be extended to reach the victims of these violations”. As this case illustrates, within 24 hours thousands of people around the world who searched for such material, eagerly paid to view the rape and torture of children. The case also exposes the highly organised nature of sexual crimes against children which begin at local level and move quickly across borders facilitated by new technologies which allow vast amounts of materials to be easily produced, distributed and stored. While some financial companies have acted to prevent these criminal transactions, many others exist which facilitate payment for such material. The collaboration of private sector entities such as internet service providers and law enforcement agencies, as shown in this case, is vital to combat these crimes. However, more action is required to establish and enforce global standards of child protection for the development and application of new technologies to protect children from sexual exploitation in the virtual realm. Furthermore, national laws to criminalise the making, distribution and possession of child pornographic images are weak around the world and must be strengthened with punishments that reflect the severity of these crimes. More information