Despite increasing research on online child sexual exploitation, limited research compares female and male perpetrators. This study examined 116 females and 116 age-matched males known to police for online child sexual exploitation on group characteristics and risk of reoffending. Some differences emerged, with females co-offending and experiencing violent victimisation more often than males. However, several similarities were also apparent, including that females and males had similar risk of recidivism. These findings have implications for policy and highlight several important avenues for future research.
This study examined associations between out-of-school suspension from primary school and early contact with police (by the age of about 14 years). Longitudinal data from the New South Wales Child Development Study were used to determine the prevalence, pattern and association of suspension and police contact among 68,121 children. The odds of suspended children experiencing any contact were three times those of non-suspended children (controlling for multiple covariates) and the odds of contact as a person of interest were six times those of non-suspended students. Dose-response relationships were evident with increasing suspension severity. Systemic intersectoral reform to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline by enacting effective alternatives to suspension is required.
The 'Stories that Matter' project aims to build a better understanding of how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's experiences with the criminal legal system are different, using yarning sessions with Indigenous people with lived experience and service providers working in this field in Western Australia. Our findings confirm the lasting impacts of colonisation and intergenerational trauma, which create the conditions that lead Indigenous people into engagement with the criminal legal system. Findings also demonstrate ongoing systemic bias and discrimination throughout the criminal legal system, undermining the trust of Indigenous people. The project delivers a strong and shared message that penal reform is only possible by, and with, Indigenous people and shows the need for government agencies and researchers to support and contribute to Indigenous self-determination.
Psychosis is commonly associated with an elevated risk of violence. This population-based study of people diagnosed with psychosis in New South Wales (n=126,198) found that 15.2 percent committed a violent offence, most commonly within four years following diagnosis. Those who had offended tended to have histories of non-violent offending, to have been diagnosed at a younger age, to have substance-related psychosis and to have several risk factors associated with criminal behaviour. Being subject to a community treatment order was generally associated with a higher risk of violence, but results suggest a delay in violent offending for those subject to these orders.
We used data from interviews with police detainees (n=2,249) to measure the extent to which their offending was related to illicit drugs or alcohol. We then used these findings to estimate the total number of principal offences attributable to different substances. In 2019, 45 percent of all detainees attributed their offending to substance use. Offending was most commonly attributed to methamphetamine (27.6%) and alcohol use (16.5%). Alcohol attribution was more common for violent crimes, while methamphetamine featured prominently among both violent and property offences. Applying these attributable fractions to recorded crime data for 2019, we estimated that substance use contributed to approximately 156,760 principal offences in Australia. This included 95,990 offences attributable to methamphetamine and 56,627 attributable to alcohol use.
This study examines the experiences of 331 Australian individuals and small to medium enterprise (SME) owners who were victims of ransomware. We used survey data to understand how they were targeted and the vulnerabilities that were exploited in private and work-related settings. Most ransomware victims had received multiple ransom messages in the past 12 months. SME owners were more likely to have received multiple messages and to have previously paid a ransom. Strong messaging should dissuade SME owners from making these payments, which increase the chances of repeat victimisation. SME owners reported impacts on many devices. The affected devices were also more likely to have been a work-issued device or a personal device used for work. SME owners were also more likely than other victims to report that the ransomware had spread to other workplace devices, systems or email accounts. The results highlight both the human element in victimisation and the need for technological solutions to protect business owners from ransomware and its harmful effects.
The risk-taking behaviours of children on adult-based platforms (dating apps, remunerative matchmaking services, subscription platforms, fetish communities) are largely unknown. This study interviewed 46 participants aged 18 to 21 years about their previous risk-taking experiences as children on adult-based platforms. The study found that children are exposed to risk both online and offline as a result of using these platforms-for example, inappropriate or illegal conversations involving sexting and activities such as drug use. However, in some instances, participants reported engaging in similar risk-taking experiences outside of adult-based platforms.
| Research examining restorative justice (RJ) for domestic family violence (DFV) and sexual violence is growing. While best practice principles are used to guide the design and implementation of RJ for these forms of violence, these principles have primarily been informed by experts other stakeholders. Importantly, there has been little empirical examination of the perspectives of victim-survivors on best practice in relation to RJ for and sexual violence. The current study addresses this gap, drawing on interviews with and surveys of 13 victim-survivors who participated in an Australian RJ program for DFV sexual violence. Victim-survivors repeatedly identified Convenors' skills and expertise, flexibility and a feeling that they were supported to satisfy a diverse range of justice needs as critical to the success of restorative justice in this context.
This paper presents results from a study that investigated the perspectives of victim-survivors about post-custodial measures for people with convictions for sexual offending (PCSOs). It addressed the question: what are victim-survivors' reasons for supporting or opposing a wide range of PCSO post-custodial measures? The study involved qualitative interviews with 26 victim-survivors of sexual violence. It found that victim-survivors were supportive of PCSOs being subject to a range of measures, including electronic monitoring, (non-public) sex offender registers, psychological interventions, parole supervision and Circles of Support and Accountability. In contrast, victim-survivors had very mixed views about public sex offender registers. The study emphasises the importance of considering victim-survivor perspectives in shaping post-custodial interventions for PCSOs.
| This study analysed posts from a darknet forum to examine approaches to desistance from offending among undetected child sexual offenders. Forum users discussed a range of approaches, but some were harmful to children, including the use of child sexual abuse material to avoid contact offending. Other less harmful desistance strategies were discussed, which included adjusting lifestyle, reducing internet use, and controlling access to children. Some users had a positive view of psychosocial services, while acknowledging the heightened risk of detection, and shared knowledge on how to remain undetected while seeking treatment. These findings highlight the need for psychosocial treatment avenues for child sexual offenders in the community that they perceive to have a low risk of leading to law enforcement detection.
This study investigated the discriminative and predictive validity of the Violence Risk Scale (VRS) for Aboriginal and non-Indigenous males convicted of violent offending. A sample of 2,689 assessments from multiple jurisdictions was used to examine the criminogenic profile of Australian males according to the VRS, along with reoffending outcomes. Recidivism was measured based on a return to correctional supervision for a subsequent violent offence within two-year and five-year follow-up periods. The VRS total score had moderate discriminative accuracy for violent reoffending at five-year follow-up. However, Aboriginal males were significantly more likely to be categorised as high risk, and further discrimination measures revealed disparities in the scale's performance between Aboriginal and non-Indigenous males. Implications of the findings for correctional practice are discussed.
Victim-survivors of domestic and family violence (DFV) are increasingly using closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems. To date, the impacts of CCTV systems on victim-survivors have been unclear. This paper presents the findings from a world-first study into how victim-survivors of DFV experience the use of CCTV systems. It draws on a national survey of 125 DFV support practitioners and 28 in-depth interviews (including with 9 victim-survivors). The findings demonstrate that CCTV can have beneficial impacts on the wellbeing of victim-survivors by providing a sense of safety and security but also carries risks, including that victim-survivors will become hypervigilant.
Ransomware is one of the most prolific and economically damaging cybercrime threats of the contemporary era. This exploratory study aims to enhance knowledge about ransomware criminal groups. Our focus is on ransomware criminal groups that targeted organisations in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom between 2020 and 2022. The paper examines the evolution and activities of ransomware criminal groups. Results reveal the most active ransomware criminal groups, the median range of their careers and the most targeted victim organisations by country and sector type.
The live streaming of child sexual abuse (CSA) is a technologically and financially enabled crime type which has proliferated in recent years. This study uses a machine learning approach to produce a proof of concept model for identifying the financial indicators associated with CSA live streaming. This model was successful at identifying those who live streamed child sexual abuse, while making few errors in identifying those who did not. Seven financial risk indicators were identified. Six risk indicators centred on the value of transactions, and one on the age of the individual making the transactions. These findings reveal an important opportunity to use financial transactions as an avenue for detecting and disrupting CSA live streaming.
In this study we used data from the 2023 Australian Cybercrime Survey to develop a harm index for individual victims of cybercrime. The index comprises scores for 17 common types of cybercrime. These scores were based on a 34-item measure of cybercrime harm encompassing practical, health, social, financial and legal impacts. Harm scores were based on victim reports of the prevalence and severity of each harm. These harm scores were strongly associated with reporting to police and to ReportCyber, which helps validate the index. The scores provide a measure of the relative severity of each type of cybercrime. We used these harm scores to measure concentration among cybercrime victims. Overall, just 10.9 percent of victims accounted for 57.7 percent of the harm to all victims who completed the survey. Repeat victims who experienced multiple types of cybercrime are disproportionately impacted and should be prioritised for intervention.
Sexual extortion is a form of blackmail in which a perpetrator threatens to release intimate material of a victim unless they comply with certain demands. We examine the prevalence and nature of sexual extortion among a sample of 1,953 adolescents residing in Australia. More than one in 10 adolescents had experienced sexual extortion in their lifetime (11.3%), one in three of whom experienced more than one instance. More than half experienced sexual extortion before the age of 16, and two in five were extorted using digitally manipulated material. Two-thirds of those who experienced sexual extortion had only ever met the perpetrator online, and there were important differences in experiences between genders. Preventing children from being sexually extorted should be a priority for social media and messaging platforms, and should be a collaborative effort across multiple sectors.
This study examined the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and child sexual abuse (CSA), employing a rapid evidence assessment of research on the uses of AI for the prevention and disruption of CSA, and the ways in which AI is used in CSA offending. Research from January 2010 to March 2024 was reviewed, identifying 33 empirical studies. All studies that met inclusion criteria examined AI for CSA prevention and disruption—specifically, how technology can be used to detect or investigate child sexual abuse material or child sexual offenders. There were no studies examining the uses of AI in CSA offending. This paper describes the state of current research at the intersection of AI and CSA, and provides a gap map to guide future research.
The NSW Co-Located Caseworker Program was established to support women in custody who have children involved in the child protection system. Under the program, child protection caseworkers are ‘co-located’ in NSW correctional centres. We undertook a mixed-methods evaluation of the program by analysing data from Corrective Service NSW’s Offender Integrated Management System and conducting 48 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders, including 25 women in custody. We concluded that the program is a well designed and much needed initiative of benefit to women in custody and their children. However, it could be improved by more coordinated case planning between Corrective Services NSW and child protection services and the increased availability of programs to help women in custody achieve their child protection related goals.
As gatekeepers to restorative justice (RJ) programs for domestic and family violence (DFV) and sexual violence, stakeholders in referring agencies perform the critical role of assessing the suitability of cases for entry into these programs. This article draws on interviews with 47 stakeholders in an RJ program for DFV and sexual violence in the Australian Capital Territory to better understand stakeholder decision-making about referrals. Findings show stakeholders' decisions around which matters to refer to RJ centre on assessments of victim-survivors' safety and offender accountability. Many stakeholders are risk averse when deciding whether to make a referral, which may inadvertently reduce opportunities for victim-survivors to benefit and achieve their justice goals.
Drawing on a survey of 13,302 online Australians, this study examines the characteristics and behaviours of respondents who viewed child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and fringe or radical content online, or both. In the past 12 months, 40.6 percent of respondents had viewed fringe or radical content and 4.5 percent had viewed CSAM. Among respondents who viewed CSAM, 64.7 percent had also viewed fringe or radical content, while 7.1 percent of those who viewed radical content had also viewed CSAM. Respondents who viewed only CSAM or only fringe or radical content were similar to one another. Respondents who viewed both were more likely to be younger and male and had higher rates of criminal justice system contact and diagnosed mental illness. Their online activity, including the platforms used, also differed.
