The US agreed to join Australia to take a step forward in fighting child sexual exploitation amid increasing online abuse cases on November 19.
US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Australian Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus called for an inaugural meeting of a joint assembly on November 16 to discuss the issue of child sexual exploitation.
US Join Australia in Fighting Child Sexual Exploitation
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 08: U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas speaks during a hearing before Senate Appropriations Committee at Dirksen Senate Office Building on November 8, 2023 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The committee held a hearing to examine the Biden Administration’s supplemental request for the Health and Human Services Department and Homeland Security Department.
According to the joint statement, online child sexual exploitation and abuse were increasingly widespread, exploited, and worsened by the speed and scale of digital technologies. Some advanced technologies, like generative artificial intelligence (AI), have further exacerbated the risk of harm to youth and provided opportunities to tackle the threat.
The statement said that the US and Australia were both committed to combatting all forms of child exploitation and abuse. Dreyfus said they were responsible for protecting the youth, the most vulnerable group in society.
He said that online child sexual exploitation and abuse have a long-lasting and devastating impact on victims and survivors. "The Albanese Government is committed to preventing and responding to child sexual abuse that occurs online or in any other setting and supporting all victims and survivors," he added.
He said that every child and young person has the right to be safe from child sexual abuse. Furthermore, he assured that their collective responsibility was to protect every child.
Mayorkas said that sexual abuse crimes were continuously increasing worldwide, and there was no greater law enforcement imperative. He said that they would hold the perpetrators accountable.
He added that the perpetrators were exploiting technological advances to manipulate images online, which made it hard for law enforcement to distinguish a real or fake image to identify the victims.
He said he was forming alliances worldwide to tackle and approach the abuse online with other governments. Mayorkas added that they also have a great partnership with the Australian government to combat child sexual exploitation.
Both the US and the Australian government have been prioritizing identifying and saving the victims and bringing the perpetrators to justice.
Furthermore, US President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have already met to establish their responsibility in the Joint Council, which they announced at the Australian state visit to the United States in October.
The Joint Council noted that they would develop a trauma-informed, victim and survivor-centered multidisciplinary work plan within each of the pillars of the Joint Council.
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Increasing Reports of Child Sexual Exploitation
According to CBS News, since the pandemic, children have been focused on their gadgets, such as laptops and smartphones, and stayed connected to the Internet and have been more prone to predators online.
The nonprofit National Center for Missing and Exploited Children revealed that it received 29.3 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation last year, which was an increase of 35% from 2020 and record-breaking.
Alicia Kozak, a 13-year-old victim, was kidnapped and abused in a basement in Virginia before being rescued by law enforcement agents.
After a decade, Kozak was advocating for internet safety against predators, and she warned that predators realize kids across America now have more comprehensive access to phones and computers at an even younger age.
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