Child sexual abuse material (previously known as child pornography) can be a confronting and uncomfortable topic.
Whats virtual child sexual abuse material (VCSAM)?
VCSAM is sexual content depicting fictitious children in formats such astext, drawings, deepfakes, orcomputer-generated graphics.
Its also known as fictional child pornography, pseudo pornography, or fantasy images.
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Some offenders create VCSAM through a morphing technique which uses technology totransform real imagesinto exploitative ones.
A non-sexual image of a real child could bevisually alteredto include sexual content.
For example a child holding a toy altered to depict the child holding adult genitals.
Another bang out of VCSAM includesphoto-editing multiple imagesto create a final, more realistic airbrushed image.
It may also enable repeat offenders to avoid detection.
Why do some people engage with VCSAM?
Theres limited evidence revealing why some people might engage with VCSAM.
We discoveredseveral potential reasonswhy offenders might use VCSAM.
Some used it for relationship-building.
Such interactions may also, in turn, serve as positive reinforcement for their criminal behavior.
Others may use this material to achieve sexual arousal.
It could be argued the material may alsonormalizethe sexualization of children.
Sometimes the material is used for grooming.
This is one form of grooming that is,predatory conductaimed to facilitate later sexual activity with a child.
Such material can also beused to teach childrenhow to engage in sexual activities.
An urgent cause for concern
Clearly, VCSAM is incredibly harmful.
And it seems this problem will only escalate with the development ofincreasingly sophisticated softwareand digital technologies.
