In Brazil, the number of images of child sexual abuse and exploitation grew 70% in the first four months of this year, compared to 2022, being the highest increase since 2020. According to the non-governmental organization SaferNet, in the period its center received 23,777 complaints, sent for investigation by the Federal Public Ministry, with which it maintains an agreement. In the first four months of 2022, the total number of cases referred to the authorities was 14,005. In the interval between 2019 and 2022, the increase has been constant. In 2022, more than 100,000 complaints reached the center for the second consecutive year, a phenomenon that had not occurred since 2011. And it was not just the complaints that multiplied. The number of unique shared links, which give access to abuse images, has also grown since 2019, in the first four months of the year, when comparing records from one year to the next. There is only one exception regarding the trend, that of 2022. The center has existed since 2006 and, two years later, it already reached 289,707 complaints, a record mark, which demonstrates the need to take this type of crime seriously. Another important data that indicates the vulnerability of children and adolescents in relation to such practices is the 102.24% increase in 2020, the first year of the covid-19 pandemic. Expansion of complaints The director of SaferNet, psychologist Juliana Cunha, attributes the expansion of complaints to “a combination of variables. You have access to the internet in this age group of children and adolescents. Since the pandemic, we have been observing this more intense use of the internet. This contributes to their being more exposed to risks and, therefore, certainly also, suffering more this type of violence”, he says. “Another issue is the fact that people today have a much more accurate view of sexual violence against children and adolescents on the internet. So, of course, this change in perception, over time, allows people to better identify and faster and know how to file a complaint”, he adds. Another factor mentioned by the NGO representative is the materials that are not exactly the abuse itself, but that end up inciting the practice. “There are issues that also involve content that is from the gray area, content that is not nudity and explicit sex, but that has a more sexualized nature. This content ends up not being detected by artificial intelligence tools. That is, they circulate more , are more accessible and also more likely to be denounced by the population”, she explains. Legislation The Child and Adolescent Statute (Law 8069, of 1990) defines fines and imprisonment as sanctions for this type of crime, which can range from four to eight years. The law contemplates specific penalties for those who record, sell or disseminate child pornography, those who disseminate or store material of this nature or even those who simulate sex scenes with minors. The Bill of Law (PL) 830/2022, authored by parliamentarian Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ), is currently under analysis in the Federal Senate, which proposes that the prison sentence be slightly stiffened, so that it is from five to eight years, for those who register and sell the contents, for example. The text also provides for the inclusion of the internet as one of the means provided for in article 241D of the Statute of the Child and Adolescent (ECA) for enticing, harassing or embarrassing a child to practice libidinous acts. Another change suggested by the bill is the repeal of the paragraph that reduces the punishment when the authorities consider the amount of material seized to be small. Images of abuse As it understands that images of abuse against minors are, in reality, the record of violence that has taken place, SaferNet recommends that the term “child pornography” falls into disuse. For that reason, what she adopts is the expression “pictures of child abuse and exploitation”. Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization) has already carried out a campaign supporting the overthrow of the nomenclature. According to SaferNet, legalized pornography presupposes the free and consenting participation of actors or persons of legal age filmed or photographed in consensual sexual acts. Therefore, the image of nudity and sex involving a child or adolescent, by definition, is not consensual. In Brazil, any sexual act with a minor under 14 is considered rape. The change in language is also explained because pornography also presupposes the passive consumption of content, which mitigates the seriousness of possession and distribution of this type of content. Juliana Cunha also comments that what needs to be improved is not necessarily the law, but its application. “What we need to improve, more than legislation, I would say, is the police force, in the sense of having investigations, of having authorities capable of investigating, a faster response from justice as well. And it reaches not only those who consumes, as we see in most police operations. The final consumer. Also reaching those who produce, who generates business around it, who gets revenue, the person who profits from it. This is what we also need to achieve, this market that is organized, coordinated, and that has people behind it”, argues the director. The spokeswoman for SaferNet also points out that abuse against adolescents is no less serious than that which affects children, even if it is more naturalized. According to her, it should be treated with the same seriousness. “We need to understand that adolescence is a phase of experimentation. So, much of this content is made by the teenager himself, who sometimes takes a selfie, makes a video of himself. Sometimes, also induced by an adult, the what we call sextortion. This is a very critical period in terms of education, parental monitoring, because, of course, adolescents have more autonomy, use the internet for longer, alone, not always accompanied by their parents, they often refuse when parents try to monitor”, he stresses. “It is also a very important moment for us to educate, mediate this responsible and ethical use. It is out of the question that, if this content [produzido e/ou veiculado] is from someone under the age of 18, this already typifies an image crime of child sexual abuse. We need to understand that any image of a teenager or pre-teen is indeed a crime and needs to be reported. We need to no longer normalize sexualization in any age group, whether it is a child or a teenager”, he amends. How to report SaferNet’s Complaint Center works in a simple way. and follow the other steps indicated on the platform.For cases of child sexual violence, the Dial 100, a channel maintained by the federal government, can also be activated.
Agência Brasil
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