At the beginning of April, the 2016 Annual Report of the British Internet Watch foundation (IWF) was published. The report states that over a third of all online links to child porn refers to Dutch servers.

Of all the child porn links, 37 percent is hosted on Dutch servers, according to research conducted by the IWF, and the number of child porn sites increased by 20 percent in 2016, to a total of 2416 websites. On these sites were 57,335 links to pictures of child abuse.

Most victims are young girls

The annual report aims to strengthen the global action against pictures of sexual child abuse. The IWF is, together with ECPAT International, an important player in the WePROTECT Global Alliance to stop online sexual exploitation of children. IWF collaborates with 51 hotlines in 45 countries, such as the Dutch Meldpunt Kinderporno (Hotline Child Abuse), international internet companies and police.

At more than half of the cases reported to the IWF, the age of the children was estimated at between two and ten years old (53 percent). Roughly two percent of cases concerned children between zero and two years of age, and 45 percent between 11 and 15.

Compared to previous years, the percentage children between two and ten has decreased, while the percentage children between eleven and fifteen has gone up. Moreover, 89 percent of the material contained pictures of girls, 5 percent of boys, and 5 percent contained both. There is also a clear trend of self-produced images with webcams and smartphones that are shared online.

Dutch hub

It is also concerning that 60 percent of the online child sex abuse material is located on servers in Europe, and that the majority - more than a third (37 percent) - is on servers in the Netherlands. Last month, Hotline Child Abuse reported that 82 percent of the material that the Hotline assessed as criminal in 2016, were found on Dutch servers.

The good digital infrastructure in the Netherlands is predominantly the cause of this, but the use of advanced technology should make it possible to take action against it.

Defence for Children – ECPAT advocates for a more intensive approach. In addition, youth should be better aware of the risks and dangers and this should be a structural subject of mandatory sex education.

Contributed by Defence for Children