Abuse of Indian children 'common' By Geeta Pandey BBC News, Delhi
Report cover This is the first time India has done such a survey on child abuse Two out of every three children in India are physically abused, according to a landmark government study.
Commissioned by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the study says 53% of the surveyed children reported one or more forms of sexual abuse.
This is the first time the government has done such an exhaustive survey on the controversial issue of child abuse.
Online child abuse complaints up Computer Keyboard
More than 3,000 websites were reported to the IWF Reports of websites that contain images of child abuse have continued to climb in the last year, a report has shown.
In 2006, the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) investigated more than 31,000 reports of sites that contained alleged images, an increase of 34% since 2005.
More than 10,000 of the reported pages on more than 3,000 websites were found to contain illegal child abuse content.
The increase was in part due to greater awareness of the IWF and its reporting procedures, the organisation said.
As well as outlining the numbers of web pages and sites containing images, the IWF annual report also revealed the increasing severity of content held on the sites.
More than 3,000 web pages contained images depicting the most severe abuse, such as penetrative and sadistic sexual activity, the report said. Most children involved were under the age of 12.
We exist to try to access the content and get it removed Peter Robbins
"The images we are seeing are predominantly prepubescent, young children," said Peter Robbins, chief executive of the IWF.
"They have no choice. There is no consent - they are being raped."
Nearly 1,000 commercial child abuse websites were found to sell child rape images, predominantly of young girls.
Long-lived
The report also highlighted how paedophiles had become more tech-savvy in attempts to avoid detection.
Some commercial child abuse websites, run by organised criminal gangs, break up images on to several servers around the world. The fragments are only united when a paedophile downloads an image.
IWF REPORT: KEY FACTS 31,776 reports processed 10,656 pages contained child abuse content 3,077 websites contained all of the images 1,667 were commercial websites 10.5% of all pages were on photo sharing websites 91% of victims appear to be under 12 years old
Report illegal content
Other websites only appear on the web for a short period of time, or move servers regularly to countries with different legal jurisdictions.
This technique means that police forces never have enough time to gather the required evidence to take down a site. For example, one has been reported to the IWF 224 times since 2002.
The report also revealed how photo sharing websites are also being exploited to trade and view images.
More than 10% of the reported pages were of this type, it said.
"No one pretends that the companies involved with this know it's going on," said Mr Robbins.
"When we draw their attention to the folders, they are quick to remove them."
Worst offenders
The IWF also highlighted which countries appeared to be the worst offenders for hosting child abuse content.
Nearly 55% of all reported websites were hosted in the US whilst Russia contained just over 28%, the report said.
Internet user UK Sites reported to the IWF are shut down within 48 hours
Mr Robbins said that the US was the worst offender, principally because of access to technology and its geography.
"Given their size, it's inevitable that they come high on our radar," he said.
The UK has virtually stamped out hosting of illegal online child abuse content, the IWF said.
"The IWF has made dramatic and continued progress in tackling the availability of illegal images of child abuse," said Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker.
"[It] has made a significant and on-going contribution to the eradication of exploitation sites hosted in the UK, and the prevention of access to sites hosted abroad."
Any sites reported to the IWF that are hosted in the UK are removed within 48 hours by UK ISPs.
Anonymous tips
Many of the 31, 776 reports made to the IWF in 2006 came through its "hotline" website.
READ THE REPORT
IWF 2006 Annual and Charity Report [1.2MB] Most computers will open this document automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader Download the reader here
Most reports were of commercial websites, as people looking for pornography or clicking on links in spam emails were more likely to stumble across these, said Mr Robbins.
He urged anybody that came across potentially illegal content to report it immediately and offered reassurance that users could report any content anonymously.
"We exist to try to access the content and get it removed," he said.
The IWF is funded by the EU and UK internet industry, including ISPs, mobile operators, internet search providers and telecommunications and software companies.
BLBR--BlueBear Starts Full Field Trials With LACE Its Premiere Product That Fights Child Exploitation
2007-04-25 08:00 ET - News Release
OTTAWA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 04/25/07
BlueBear Networks International, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: BLBR) announced today that its premiere product LACE (Law Enforcement Against Child Exploitation), which assists police in the fight against child exploitation, is undergoing trials with four police agencies. The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and York Regional Police (YRP) are currently conducting full LACE field trials while the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the US Department of Defense (DOD) will start testing and evaluating LACE in early May.
LACE is a computer program that helps investigators automatically categorize the huge number of digital images (case media-evidence files) typically found on a suspect's computer, PDA, or cell phone. For example, a confiscated computer hard drive might hold over 200,000 digital images that are suspected to include images of child pornography and must be categorized by police in preparation for court proceeding. If categorized manually the task might take several months of grueling effort but when LACE is applied the task can be completed in a couple of days. LACE also significantly reduces investigator stress and burnout and provides the police agency with a huge return on investment. Further, the categorized results can be shared with every LACE user so that all parties benefit from the work done to categorize images. This sharing of results is unique and ensures that the larger community of police agencies benefit from the efforts of each member.
Speaking about LACE, Jeff Nash, Technical Director of BlueBear, stated, "Initial LACE trials conducted in 2006 by York Regional Police proved very successful. We have built upon that success and are proud to provide police with the ability to rapidly process child exploitation cases that would otherwise have gone unprocessed. LACE has been a very satisfying experience."
About BlueBear Network International, Inc. BlueBear Network International, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: BLBR) is a Nevada company based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. BlueBear develops and markets the world's first system LACE that automatically processes and categorizes media-evidence files from seized computer hard drives in child exploitation cases. LACE and a companion product IDLE, can search, and identify victims, suspects, & witnesses in police facial images databases located worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.bbninternational.com/
This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Securities Litigation Improvements Act of 1996. The words "believe, expect, estimate, and project" and similar expressions define forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date the statement was made. BlueBear undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise. Forward-looking statements are currently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified. Future events and actual results could differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated in, or underlie the forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties to which forward-looking statements are subject include, but are not limited to, the company's ability to meet its projected growth, the effects of government regulation, competition and other material risks.
Contact: Sal Khan CEO skhan@bbninternational.com 613-599-7766 x 26
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