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we investigate such cases and how we accommodate the recovery needs of the child victims.In particular, the research in Germany by von Weiller has highlighted some of the gaps inour ability to respond therapeutically to these children. These include:• Lack of experienced professionals• Lack of specific knowledge and expertise on the psychological impact on thevictim• Limited access to services throughout the world• A need for sharing of good practice among professionals both regionally andinternationally• An ability to build on existing structures, while acknowledging cultural diversity, toenable both recognition of , and response to, the needs of these children.Here we acknowledge the paucity of research on the impact of both Internet-related sexualabuse and what should be seen as Internet-related sexual exploitation. It is clear that inthe majority of countries practitioners do not explore such abuse nor do they feel that theyhave the capacity or expertise to address the sexual exploitation children suffer.3.2.1 Children made the subjects of abuse imagesIn the context of abuse images, there are four substantial studies (all but one of whichpredate the Internet), which have sought to examine the impact of ‘child pornography’.• Burgess and Hartman (1987) examined children’s involvement in pornography andsex rings;• Silbert (1989) examined child pornography production in the context of childprostitution;• Svedin and Back’s (1996) sample was drawn from a group of children exposed toboth the production of pornography and intra and extra-familial abuse (an enlargedsample was published in 2003 and will be considered separately)• Scott’s (2001) study was in the context of ritual abuse.All four of these studies are broadly similar in the accounts that they give of the symptomsthat the children produced during the abuse. Again it is difficult to disentangle theconsequences of the abuse per se (physical symptoms, such as urinary infections andgenital soreness, as well as behavioural symptoms such as sexualised behaviours) from theconsequences of being photographed, ie, the symptoms of the sexual exploitation. HoweverSvedin and Back (1996) gave details amongst their sample of restlessness, depression,hunger, exhaustion, concentration difficulties and aggressive behaviours. Silbert’s (1989)study also suggested that children who were exposed to longer periods of abuse sufferedChild Pornography and Sexual Exploitation of Children Online |45