REPORT
What Drives Online Child Sexual Abuse Offending? Understanding Motivations, Facilitators, Situational Factors, and Barriers
The new, groundbreaking report released as part of the 2KNOW project, an EU-funded initiative led by Protect Children in collaboration with the University of Eastern Finland and the Council of the Baltic Sea States, reveals the intricate web of factors that drive online child sexual abuse offending. The report offers critical insights into the motivations, facilitators, situational factors, and barriers that influence individuals to engage in CSAM-related crimes.
The report is written by Tegan Insoll, Valeriia Soloveva, Eva Díaz Bethencourt, Noora Nieminen, Katariina Leivo, Anna K. Ovaska, and Nina Vaaranen-Valkonen.
“This research is crucial for developing targeted interventions that not only address the root causes of CSAM offending but also strengthen the barriers that prevent individuals from acting on harmful impulses.” Anna Ovaska, Project 2KNOW Coordinator, Deputy Director and Legal Specialist at Protect Children.
The report leverages data collected from 4,549 anonymous child sexual abuse material offenders in the dark web via "Help us to know" survey in the period between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024. It aims to uncover the complex interactions between motivations, facilitators, and situational factors that lead to the production and consumption of CSAM and examines the barriers that offenders perceive as effective in preventing their behaviour.
The ultimate goal of this report is to contribute to the development of effective measures to combat CSAM offending. This report is intended to serve as a resource for policymakers, researchers, law enforcement, and child protection professionals dedicated to protecting children.
Key findings
Motivations for online child sexual abuse offending
While a sexual interest in children is a known driver, the report reveals that CSAM offending is also motivated by other factors such as emotional regulation, high sex drive, and sensation-seeking behaviour.tion
Facilitators of online child sexual abuse offending
Situational factors of online child sexual abuse offending
Barriers to online child sexual abuse offending
About the 2KNOW project
The study, which is conducted as a part of the project Knowledge to Prevent (2KNOW) has been produced with the financial support of the European Commission’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV) Programme (2022). The project is led by Protect Children, with the Council of the Baltic Sea States and the University of Eastern Finland as partners. Project 2KNOW aims to support and improve national and international data collection on violence against children by developing a sustainable and replicable data collection model that is suited to gathering information about online violence against children.
The 2KNOW project has been produced with the financial support of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV) Programme (2022) of the European Union. The contents herein are the sole responsibility of project partnership and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Commission.
