Characteristics and Behaviors of Anonymous Users of Dark Web Platforms Suspected of Child Sexual Offenses
International law enforcement have noted a rise in the use of the Dark Web to facilitate and commit sexual offenses against children, both prior to and since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study presented here therefore aimed to investigate the characteristics and behaviors of anonymous use...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.623668/full |
| _version_ | 1828963451742978048 |
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| author | Jessica Woodhams Juliane A. Kloess Brendan Jose Catherine E. Hamilton-Giachritsis |
| author_facet | Jessica Woodhams Juliane A. Kloess Brendan Jose Catherine E. Hamilton-Giachritsis |
| author_sort | Jessica Woodhams |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | International law enforcement have noted a rise in the use of the Dark Web to facilitate and commit sexual offenses against children, both prior to and since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study presented here therefore aimed to investigate the characteristics and behaviors of anonymous users of Dark Web platforms who were suspected of engaging in the sexual abuse of children. Naturally-occurring data on 53 anonymous suspects, who were active on the Dark Web and had come to police attention in the United Kingdom (UK), were sampled. Analysis of the data yielded 462 features that could be coded reliably. Analysis of these features provided novel insights into suspects’ characteristics, their motivations for using the Dark Web, the nature of the offending behavior they reported engaging in, their technical and security precautions, sexual interests, and the content of their interactions with one another. Findings are discussed in relation to theoretical and practical implications, as well as directions for future research. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T10:28:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-68ec149267344e55b82fa7194c57c619 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T10:28:43Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-68ec149267344e55b82fa7194c57c6192022-12-21T23:06:14ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782021-04-011210.3389/fpsyg.2021.623668623668Characteristics and Behaviors of Anonymous Users of Dark Web Platforms Suspected of Child Sexual OffensesJessica Woodhams0Juliane A. Kloess1Brendan Jose2Catherine E. Hamilton-Giachritsis3Centre for Applied Psychology, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United KingdomCentre for Applied Psychology, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United KingdomWMG, The University of Warwick, Warwick, United KingdomDepartment of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United KingdomInternational law enforcement have noted a rise in the use of the Dark Web to facilitate and commit sexual offenses against children, both prior to and since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study presented here therefore aimed to investigate the characteristics and behaviors of anonymous users of Dark Web platforms who were suspected of engaging in the sexual abuse of children. Naturally-occurring data on 53 anonymous suspects, who were active on the Dark Web and had come to police attention in the United Kingdom (UK), were sampled. Analysis of the data yielded 462 features that could be coded reliably. Analysis of these features provided novel insights into suspects’ characteristics, their motivations for using the Dark Web, the nature of the offending behavior they reported engaging in, their technical and security precautions, sexual interests, and the content of their interactions with one another. Findings are discussed in relation to theoretical and practical implications, as well as directions for future research.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.623668/fullonline (Internet) child sexual abuseInternet sex offendingoffender characteristicsTORdark web |
| spellingShingle | Jessica Woodhams Juliane A. Kloess Brendan Jose Catherine E. Hamilton-Giachritsis Characteristics and Behaviors of Anonymous Users of Dark Web Platforms Suspected of Child Sexual Offenses Frontiers in Psychology online (Internet) child sexual abuse Internet sex offending offender characteristics TOR dark web |
| title | Characteristics and Behaviors of Anonymous Users of Dark Web Platforms Suspected of Child Sexual Offenses |
| title_full | Characteristics and Behaviors of Anonymous Users of Dark Web Platforms Suspected of Child Sexual Offenses |
| title_fullStr | Characteristics and Behaviors of Anonymous Users of Dark Web Platforms Suspected of Child Sexual Offenses |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characteristics and Behaviors of Anonymous Users of Dark Web Platforms Suspected of Child Sexual Offenses |
| title_short | Characteristics and Behaviors of Anonymous Users of Dark Web Platforms Suspected of Child Sexual Offenses |
| title_sort | characteristics and behaviors of anonymous users of dark web platforms suspected of child sexual offenses |
| topic | online (Internet) child sexual abuse Internet sex offending offender characteristics TOR dark web |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.623668/full |
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