Paradigm Shift: Preventing Livestreamed Abuse of Children

A new report by Childlight East Asia & Pacific Hub at the University of New South Wales in partnership with International Justice Mission shines a light on men in Australia who livestream sexually with children and recommends targeted action to protect children from this harm. 

Childlight anonymously surveyed a sample of 1,939 Australian adult men to determine the proportion of respondents who had livestreamed sexually with a child. The survey identified alarming behaviour and interest in livestreaming child sexual abuse.

Rigorous further analysis released today uncovers alarming behavioural and demographic trends, including further evidence that men who livestream sexually with children are a risk both to children online and in person.

Director of Childlight East Asia and Pacific Hub and lead report author Professor Michael Salter said, “Australian men who livestream sexually with children tend to be tech-savvy, well-educated, employed men with higher incomes. They often have direct access to children through work, family, or community,” Prof Salter said.

“The findings of this report have serious implications for policymakers. Men who reported livestreaming sexual acts with children were far more likely to have already sexually abused a child in person. Those who had not were more likely to say they would if they thought they could avoid being caught.”

Key Findings

1. 6.5% of men surveyed have or would livestream child sexual abuse. Of 1,939 Australian men surveyed, 1.8% (n=35) said they had engaged in sexually explicit webcam interactions with children, and another 4.7% (n=91) said they would if offered.
2. Respondents who livestream child sexual exploitation and abuse are more willing to commit contact sexual abuse. Men who had livestreamed child sexual abuse were more likely to say they would sexually offend in person if they thought they could avoid being caught.
3. Most respondents who livestream child sexual exploitation and abuse are deeply involved in other forms of online child sexual abuse. Nearly half (42%) had purchased child sexual abuse material, and three-quarters (74%) had groomed or enticed children online.
4. Respondents who livestream child sexual exploitation and abuse show clear signs of sexual risk. They were nine times more likely to report troubling sexual feelings toward children and six times more likely to have had sexual contact with a child while over 18.
5. They were almost 1.5 times more likely to live with a child in their household and 2 times more likely to work with children.
6. Pornography use is higher and more extreme among respondents who livestream child sexual exploitation and abuse. They were 2.5 times more likely to watch pornography daily, seven times more likely to view bestiality, 2.5 times more likely to watch violent porn, 12 times more likely to buy sexually explicit livestream services, and 16 times more likely to purchase private sexual content.
7. Respondents who livestream child sexual exploitation and abuse are more likely to conceal their activity online. They used privacy tools such as cryptocurrency (44% vs. 24%),VPNs (30% vs. 25%), and encrypted messaging apps like Telegram (43% vs. 10%), WhatsApp (42% vs. 25%), and Signal (15% vs. 8%).
8. Respondents who livestream child sexual exploitation and abuse are often educated, employed, and well-off. Compared to non-livestreamers, respondents who livestream were more likely to live in cities, have higher incomes, be employed, in relationships, and hold university degrees.
9. Social networks enable offending. Respondents who livestream child sexual exploitation and abuse were more likely to have friends who view child sexual abuse material, groom children online, or livestream abuse themselves.

Extreme trauma specialist and lived experience advocate Kirsten Iosefo stated, “For people like me, these findings are not abstract. They are proof of what happens when prevention is neglected, when systems know harm is happening, and choose not to act.”

Executive Director of International Justice Mission’s Center to End Online Sexual Exploitation of Children John Tanagho said, “Although tools exist to detect live-streamed child sexual abuse, according to the eSafety Commissioner’s August 2025 report, no major tech companies are using them in live video calls. Offenders are operating with near impunity, enabled by a tech industry that looks the other way.”

“We collectively need a paradigm shift to understand that livestreamed child sexual abuse is preventable. Children in Australia and around the world do not need to remain defenceless while offenders exploit live video technologies. Governments, law enforcement, tech and financial companies, and civil society can work together to stop it — by making detection and disruption of live abuse a top priority,” Mr Tanagho said.

Report Recommendations

1. Technology Sector
   Require every company in the digital ecosystem - from platforms and app developers to device and operating system makers - to use AI tools that detect and disrupt livestreamed child sexual abuse in real time. This must be backed by law through a legislated digital duty of care under an updated Online Safety Act.
2. Prevention and Public Health
   Develop a national prevention strategy that includes early support for people at risk of offending. This should involve accessible intervention programs for individuals with concerning sexual interests, education on the harms of violent and extreme pornography, and public campaigns that highlight legal consequences and encourage help-seeking.

“Australia has the expertise, the innovation and the moral responsibility to lead. The path forward is clear. Now we must walk it together, for the children of today and for future generations,” Ms Iosefo said. The eSafety Commissioner defines child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) livestreaming as “the transmission or receipt of acts of sexual exploitation or abuse of children live via webcam or video to people anywhere in the world, whether or not in exchange for payment. CSEA livestreaming includes one-on-one video calls and video calls where one or multiple people stream CSEA material to a group of any size.”¹

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About the Research

Surveys were administered between November and December 2022 through CloudResearch, an online recruitment platform with access to over 100 million participants globally.

Census-matched quotas and post-stratification weights were used to obtain a cross-sectional sample of Australian adult men representative of the 2021 census according to age, annual household income, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander identity, residential location, educational attainment, marital status, and workforce participation.

Media Enquiries

Briony Camp⏐ 0468 308 696⏐ [email protected]

¹eSafety Commissioner. (August 2025). Baseline for online safety transparency: Snapshot of the first regular report on child sexual exploitation and abuse, and sexual extortion. Basic Online Safety Expectations periodic reporting series. Available from: https://www.esafety.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-08/BOSE-Snapshot-first-regular-report-on-CSEA-sexual-extortion-periodic-notices-August2025.pdf?v=1754435223208