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The phenomenon of child pornography
the youngsters had received requests to perform a sexual act in front of the webcam and it was not uncommon
for such requests to be complied with.
The scale of ‘sexting’ 408
It is not possible to judge the scale of the phenomenon of ‘sexting’. The results of various studies 409 vary
significantly due to differences in the definition that is applied, incomparable respondent groups and the
research methods that are used. 410 For this reason it is important that research is conducted into sexting
in the future. In such studies, it would be advisable to refer to the analysis of five studies of sexting from
2008 and 2009, and to take on board the recommendations that were made as a result of the analysis. 411
1.5.3 The volume of child abuse material
The volume of child abuse material that is available on the Internet is on the increase. 412 However,
figures in this regard are unknown, 413 but at the same time they are also irrelevant in the context of the
borderless and expanding online world. 414
Databases in which child abuse material is stored by the police (the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Child</strong> <strong>Pornography</strong> Database
of the KLPD and the International <strong>Child</strong> Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) Image Database of Interpol) are
currently unable to provide an idea of the scale of material identified by the police, contrary to what
could perhaps be assumed. No attention will be devoted to this aspect in this sub-section either (for
further information regarding the databases mentioned see §3.4.2) and for this reason only a few statistics
will be shown. These concern data with regard to suspected child abuse material that was reported
to Internet hotlines. It should be noted, superfluously, that these figures are not an attempt to indicate
the actual volume of the material available on the Internet.
The scale of suspected child abuse material reported to Internet hotlines
The first Internet hotline to report child abuse material was set up in the Netherlands in 1996 – the
Meldpunt Kinderporno op Internet [Hotline Combating <strong>Child</strong> <strong>Pornography</strong> on the Internet]. 415 This was fol-
408 For a description of the phenomenon of sexting, see §1.4.2 and §1.4.3.
409 For example: Lenhart, 2009 (one of the five studies of the scale of sexting that was included in the
meta-analysis by Lounsbury et al., 2011); Livingstone et al., 2011 (not included in the meta-analysis by
Lounsbury et al., 2011).
410 Lounsbury et al., 2011.
411 Lounsbury et al., 2011. The following proposal was made with regard to the issue of defining the term:
‘youth-produced sexual images’. This means: images of minors (younger than 18 years) produced by
minors, which could be/are subject to provisions criminalising child pornography.
412 US Department of Justice, 2010; Baines, 2008.
413 US Department of Justice, 2010; Report of the Special <strong>Rapporteur</strong> on the sale of children, child prostitution
and child pornography (Ms. Najat M’jid Maalla), UN Doc A/HRC/12/23, 13 July 2009. In the latter
report, the Special <strong>Rapporteur</strong> stated thousands of new photographs and videos were uploaded onto
the Internet every week and it was estimated that 200 new images come into circulation every day.
These findings are based upon a questionnaire that was drawn up and then completed by governments,
international organisations, non-governmental organisations and the private sector in March 2009.
414 Baines, 2008.
415 For further information regarding Meldpunt Kinderporno op Internet, see §3.3.1.1.
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