New episode: klicksafe asks...Why do minors spread images of abuse?

Headlines such as "Child porn in class chats" now regularly appear in the press. The police crime statistics provide alarming figures. Around 40 percent of suspects under investigation for distributing child pornography are children and young people themselves. Holger Kind, Head of the Child Pornography Central Office at the Federal Criminal Police Office, explains how these high figures come about. And explains how we can help prevent the spread of abusive images through education and media literacy.

Why do minors spread images of abuse?

Group chats on WhatsApp and other messengers are a popular means of communication for staying in touch with friends and classmates. Not only are everyday things discussed, but illegal content is also shared carelessly. Most of those involved are not aware of the criminal consequences.

The police crime statistics 2022 show that there has been a increase of 7.9% compared to 2021 in the offense area of "distribution of pornographic material". Around 46,000 suspects were investigated in this area. Of these, 41.1% areunder the age of 18. Around 36,000 of them are accused of "distribution, acquisition, possession and production of child pornography".

In our podcast episode "Why do minors disseminate depictions of abuse", we explore the motives behind the actions of underage offenders. We also clarify which recordings fall into the category "child or youth pornography" under German law. And we provide tips for parents, guardians and teachers who are confronted with the fact that children or young people in their environment have come into contact with such recordings.

Our interviewee is Holger Kind, Head of the Child Pornography Central Office at the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA). As part of the #dontsendit campaign campaign, the BKA provides extensive information on the phenomenon of the distribution of child and youth pornography by minors.

Tips and materials on the topic

Factsheet on dealing with depictions of abuse

The factsheet of the German complaints offices(jugendschutz.net and www.internet-beschwerdestelle.de) presents the most important "DOs and DON'Ts" in an understandable way and provides concrete assistance to interested parties and those affected. It discusses whether and how evidence should be secured. What options are available for reporting and reporting content . And also, what should be avoided at all costs so asnot tomake yourself liable to prosecution .

How to sensitize and protect children and young people

  • Inform children and young people that distribution and possession of child pornography is a criminal offense .
  • Inform them about possible consequences . Even if children under the age of 14 are not of criminal age, this does not protect them from a house search by the police. All media devices (cell phone, tablet, laptop, game consoles, etc.) will be confiscated and analyzed. Young people aged 14 and over can expect to be sentenced under juvenile criminal law.
  • Make important security settings on the smartphone together with your child. For the WhatsApp messenger, for example, this meansdeactivating the automatic download of media at : Settings > Data and storage usage > Automatic download of media
    Set the privacy so that other contacts cannot add your child's cell phone number to a WhatsApp group: Settings > Account > Privacy > Groups
  • Discuss the fact that group invitations should not be accepted by strangers . Even joining a group with child pornography content can be a problem. Groups can also be reported directly to WhatsApp.
  • For teachers: If there is a chat group in your class, rules should definitely be agreed. This is possible, for example, with the klicksafe poster and the corresponding teaching unit "Our rules for the class chat". We also offer the interactive PDF "No-Gos im Klassenchat", which is part of the project 18 "Nudes, Dickpics und Co... - No-Gos im Klassenchat!" in our handbook "Let's talk about Porno".
  • Victims of sexual violence often suffer years later because images of the abuse are still circulating on the internet. Talk to children in an age-appropriate way about the fact that the dissemination of images of abuse is prohibited out of respect for the victims .
  • If you are worried that pornographic videos or images that you have made yourself could be published, you can use the Take It Down service. An important requirement is that the person depicted must have been under the age of 18 at the time the picture was taken. In this article, we explain how Take It Down works.