Australian Institute of Criminology, “Inquiry into Law Enforcement Capabilities in Relation to Child Exploitation”, Submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement, 2021.

The Australian Institute of Criminology submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement examines the link between both online and offline sexual offending against children against a background of evidence that sharing of child sexual assault material on the internet is growing. The submission contends that the crime of viewing, sharing and production of child sexual abuse material is constantly evolving. Several major issues that arise from online sexual offending against children are explained: most offending remains undetected, offenders are encouraged by others online to sexually abuse children, online grooming leading to sexual abuse, and live streaming of child sexual abuse.