By Ellen Jacobs, Ella Meyer, Helena Schwertheim, Melanie Döring and Terra Rolfe

The global gaming industry is now worth more than both the film and music industries combined, with an estimated 3.2 billion gamers worldwide. As such, greater attention has paid in recent years to the online safety risks associated with gaming. This includes both gaming-specific companies and the wider ecosystem of gaming-adjacent social media platforms, particularly in the context of online hate and misogyny, extremism and radicalisation, and child safety issues (such as grooming and cyberbullying). Significant progress has been made in understanding how online harms are perpetrated in online gaming spaces. Recognising these risks, policymakers have crafted new digital and online safety regulations such as the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and the UK’s Online Safety Act (UK OSA) to increasingly apply to gaming or gaming-adjacent companies. However, such regulations are still in the early stages of implementation and enforcement, and the extent to which gaming companies or services are within scope can be unclear. This policy brief provides a summary of the current evidence on the nature and extent of these risks and highlights remaining gaps and challenges to building out this evidence base. It also provides an overview of existing government approaches to enhancing online safety in gaming, including both regulatory and non-regulatory efforts, as well as industry and civil society initiatives. Special attention is given to existing regulatory frameworks in the EU (DSA, Terrorist Content Online Regulation), the UK (UK OSA) and Australia (Online Safety Act), to understand how and how far they may provide higher standards of online safety to gamers. Finally, the brief explores both existing and proposed mitigation strategies to enhance online safety in gaming. Throughout, the brief provides recommendations for governments, regulators, researchers and industry. The DPL supports collaboration through a multi-stakeholder approach to develop a better understanding of the risks posed in online gaming spaces and how best to mitigate them

Amman Berlin London Paris Washington DC: Institute for Strategic Dialogue (2024) 47p

By The Children's Commission for England...

“I think the Government should do more about protecting children on the internet. Of course, it is very hard but just educating about the dangers of the internet is not enough” – Girl, 17. A year has passed since the Online Safety Act 2023 became law. This Act, a landmark piece of legislation, was welcomed by the Children’s Commissioner, following her extensive campaigning, as an important step towards a new era of the online world: one that presented an opportunity for children to learn, play and develop there safely. One year on, the legislation has yet to be implemented and important decisions regarding what those regulations will look like remain unclear. This report illustrates the extent to which children are still experiencing harm online. It sets the Children’s Commissioner’s expectations for the future of online safety policy making, and bolder steps towards robustly protecting children online. This report draws on the responses of 253,000 children and adults to The Big Ambition: a large-scale consultation of children in England carried out between September 2023 and January 2024. 2 The survey asked a broad set of questions about their lives, and in response, children shared their views on what they think needs to change to make their lives better. One of the areas they wanted action on was online safety. Children told the Children’s Commissioner’s Office that some children are more vulnerable to online harms than others, and that a variety of content and non-content factors cause them harm online. They also shared their views on who should take responsibility and make the online world safer for them. This report sets out what they said:

London: The Children's Commissioner for England, 2024. 80p.

By Ghulam Hyder Sindhi

Historical Context: The document explores the historical and cultural roots of honour killings, highlighting how these practices have evolved over time and their deep-seated presence in various societies.

Status of Women: It discusses the status of women in Pakistan,emphasizing the social, economic, and political challenges they face,including limited access to education and economic opportunities.

Violence Against Women: The document provides an in-depth analysis of different forms of violence against women, including domestic violence, psychological violence, and honour killings.

Recommendations: It offers recommendations for improving the status of women, such as legal reforms, educational initiatives, and the need for a broader social movement to raise awareness and change societal attitudes.

National Institute of Pakistan Studies, 2007, 212 pages

By Zimmer, Catherine

In Paris, a static video camera keeps watch on a bourgeois home. In Portland, a webcam documents the torture and murder of kidnap victims. And in clandestine intelligence offices around the world, satellite technologies relentlessly pursue the targets of global conspiracies. Such plots represent only a fraction of the surveillance narratives that have become commonplace in recent cinema. Catherine Zimmer examines how technology and ideology have come together in cinematic form to play a functional role in the politics of surveillance. Drawing on the growing field of surveillance studies and the politics of contemporary monitoring practices, she demonstrates that screen narrative has served to organize political, racial, affective, and even material formations around and through surveillance. She considers how popular culture forms are intertwined with the current political landscape in which the imagery of anxiety, suspicion, war, and torture has become part of daily life. From Enemy of the State and The Bourne Series to Saw, Caché, and Zero Dark Thirty, Surveillance Cinema explores in detail the narrative tropes and stylistic practices that characterize contemporary films and television series about surveillance.

New York: NYU Press,  2015. 288p

 By Lucy T Tran, Heather Wardle, Samantha Colledge-Frisby, Sophia Taylor, Michelle Lynch, Jürgen Rehm, Rachel Volberg, Virve Marionneau, Shekhar Saxena, Christopher Bunn, Michael Farrell, Louisa Degenhardt

Gambling behaviors have become of increased public health interest, but data on prevalence remain scarce. In this study, we aimed to estimate for adults and adolescents the prevalence of any gambling activity, the prevalence of engaging in specific gambling activities, the prevalence of any risk gambling and problematic gambling, and the prevalence of any risk and problematic gambling by gambling activity. Methods We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis. We systematically searched for peer-reviewed literature (on MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycInfo) and grey literature to identify papers published between Jan 1, 2010, and March 4, 2024. We searched for any gambling, including engagement with individual gambling activities, and problematic gambling data among adults and adolescents. We included papers that reported the prevalence or proportion of a gambling outcome of interest. We excluded papers of non-original data or based on a biased sample. Data were extracted into a bespoke Microsoft Access database, with the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tool used to identify the risk of bias for each sample. Representative population survey estimates were firstly meta-analyzed into country-level prevalence estimates, using metaprop, of any gambling, any risk gambling, problematic gambling, and by gambling activity. Secondly, population-weighted regional-level and global estimates were generated for any gambling, any risk gambling, problematic gambling, and specific gambling activity. This review is registered on PROSPERO (CRD42021251835). Findings We screened 3692 reports, with 380 representative unique samples, in 68 countries and territories. Overall, the included samples consisted of slightly more men or male individuals, with a mean age of 29·72 years, and most samples identified were from high-income countries. Of these samples, 366 were included in the meta-analysis. Globally, 46·2% (95% CI 41·7–50·8) of adults and 17·9% (14·8–21·2) of adolescents had gambled in the past 12 months. Rates of gambling were higher among men (49·1%; 45·5–52·6) than women (37·4%; 32·0–42·5). Among adults, 8·7% (6·6–11·3) were classified as engaging in any risk gambling, and 1·41% (1·06–1·84) were engaging in problematic gambling. Among adults, rates of problematic gambling were greatest among online casino or slots gambling (15·8%; 10·7–21·6). There were few data reported on any risk and problematic gambling among adolescent samples. Interpretation Existing evidence suggests that gambling is prevalent globally, that a substantial proportion of the population engage in problematic gambling, and that rates of problematic gambling are greatest among those gambling on online formats. Given the growth of the online gambling industry and the association between gambling and a range of public health harms, governments need to give greater attention to the strict regulation and monitoring of gambling globally 

The Lancet Public Health, August 2024. Vol 9 August 2024  

By Thorn and BSG

Thorn’s annual report of Youth Perspectives on Online Safety represents the fifth year of data collection on youth behaviors and attitudes toward online safety topics. This year expands Yinclude emerging threats such as AI-generated CSAM (“deepfake nudes”) and sextortion.

El Segundo, California , Thorn, 2024. 54p.

By Akinbowale, Oluwatoyin E., Mashigo, Mariann P., Zerihun, Prof. Mulatu

The book covers the overview of cyberfraud and the associated global statistics. It demonstrates practicable techniques that financial institutions can employ to make effective decisions geared toward cyberfraud mitigation. Furthermore, the book contains some emerging technologies, such as information and communication technologies (ICT), forensic accounting, big data technologies, tools, and analytics employed in fraud mitigation. In addition, it highlights the implementation of some techniques, such as the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) and system thinking approach to address information and security challenges. The book combines a case study, empirical findings, a systematic literature review, and theoretical and conceptual concepts to provide practicable solutions to mitigate cyber fraud. The major contributions of this book include the demonstration of digital and emerging techniques, such as forensic accounting for cyber fraud mitigation. It also provides in-depth statistics about cyber fraud, its causes, its threat actors, practicable mitigation solutions, and the application of a theoretical framework for fraud profiling and mitigation.

Capetown, AOSIS, 2024 

By David M. Hart

Hobsbawm Thesis: Eric Hobsbawm's analysis of banditry as a form of political protest is applied to the Islamic world by David Hart, examining cases from Morocco, Algeria, and Pakistan.

Case Studies: The document includes detailed case studies of banditry in North Western Morocco, the Moroccan Central High Atlas, Colonial Algeria, and the North West Frontier of Pakistan.

Bandit Behavior: The analysis reveals that while elements of political protest were present, bandit behavior was influenced by various other factors, making the Hobsbawm thesis not always applicable.

Historical Context: The document provides historical context and examples of banditry, highlighting the complex interplay between bandits and political power in different regions.

Middle East & North African Studies Press, 1987, 86 pages

By Daniel Kane, Kieran M. Kennedy, Karen Flood and, Maeve Eogan

Background: Sexual violence is a crime that affects people of all genders. While focus is frequently on female survivors, it is crucial to acknowledge that males also experience sexual violence and to ensure that gender-sensitive services are available to all survivors. Understanding the prevalence of, and factors associated with, sexual violence against males is a critical first step in addressing this issue. We aim to address the lack of data in relation to sexual violence against males. Methods: A cross-sectional study of all male attendances at 6 Sexual Assault Treatment Units (SATU) in the Republic of Ireland over a 6-year period and, where applicable, comparison with corresponding female attendances. Results: There were 381 male attendances with an average age of 28.5 years over the study period, representing 7 % of all SATU patients. There was a 24 % increase in male attendances during the study period. 39.1 % presented within 24 h of the assault. 61.9 % reported the crime to the police. Employment status included 37.3 % employed, 24.9 % unemployed, and 26.2 % students, with 86.7 % being Irish nationals. Most incidents occurred on weekdays (53.3 %) and at night (56.7 %). Referrals were primarily from police (55.9 %), and psychological support was provided in 62.3 % of cases. Alcohol (60.4 %) and illicit drugs (20.5 %) were reported before assaults. 18.6 % suspected drug-facilitated assaults. Male assailants constituted 90.1 %, with 13.9 % involving multiple assailants. Male attenders were significantly more likely than females to be assaulted in their assailant's home and to be assaulted by more than one assailant. They were significantly less likely than females to report the crime to the police or to have consumed alcohol. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is one of the largest case series of male patients attending a sexual assault treatment service to be published in the international literature. Male patients are a distinct group that are increasingly accessing SATU services. Significant differences exist between male and female patients’ reported experiences of sexual violence. Knowledge of these factors will support appropriate tailoring of treatment & service provision, prevention and awareness strategies to help modify the impact and reduce the incidence of sexual violence in this cohort.

Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, 2024. 6p. 

By Vikram Vashisht

This book discusses the impact of corruption on economic development and how it hinders progress.It explores what motivates individuals to engage in corrupt activities for financial gain, and argues that paper currency enables corruption due to its untraceable nature.The author advocates a shift to a digital economy to reduce corruption and boost economic growth.

Taylor & Francis, May 18, 2017, 124 pages

By Julie A. Ward, Javier Cepeda, Dylan B. Jackson, Odis Johnson, Daniel W. Webster and Cassandra K. Crifas

Objectives.To describe all-outcome injurious shootings by police and compare characteristics of fatalversus nonfatal injurious shootings nationally.Methods.From July 2021 to April 2023, we manually reviewed publicly available records on all2015–2020 injurious shootings by US police, identified from Gun Violence Archive. We estimated injury frequency, case fatality rates, and relative odds of death by incident and victim characteristics.Results.A total of 1769 people were injured annually in shootings by police, 55% fatally. When a shooting injury occurred, odds of fatality were 46% higher following dispatched responses than police-initiated responses. Injuries associated with physically threatening or threat-making behaviors,behavioral health needs, and well-being checks were most frequently fatal. Relative to White victims,Black victims were overrepresented but had 35% lower odds of fatal injury when shot.Conclusions.This First multi-year, nationwide analysis of injurious shootings by US police suggests that injury disparities are underestimated by fatal shootings alone. Non-policing responses to social needs may prevent future injuries.Public Health Implications.We call for enhanced reporting systems, comprehensive evaluation of emerging reforms, and targeted investment in social services for equitable injury prevention.

American Journal of Public Health, 2024. 11p.

By The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 

In December 2023, the National Academies hosted a public webinar in which medical and human rights experts explored concerns related to harassment, threats, and physical attacks against health care professionals working to provide essential reproductive health care. The event was the fourth in a webinar series designed to consider society-wide effects of limits to reproductive health care access in the U.S. following the 2022 Supreme Court Decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. This Proceedings of a Workshop-in Brief highlights the presentations and discussions that occurred at the webinar.

Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. 2024. 9p.

By Simon Springer

This paper proceeds as a brief intervention in response to Andrew Foxall's article "Geopolitics, genocide and the Olympic Games: Sochi 2014". I address the violence that is associated with the Olympic Games and the politics of place that are involved in site selection. In offering some reflections on how the Olympics are irrevocably tied to colonial processes, my primary contention is that it is necessary to ask critical geographical questions about the Games. Such interrogation opens up a dialogue wherein greater awareness for the legacies of violence may be established, which has the potential to interrupt its ongoing unfoldings.

ACME. 2014. 9p.

By Laura Chiang, Stephanie Miedema, Janet Saul, James Mercy, Andrew Brooks, Alexander Butchart, Gretchen Bachman, Jennifer Hegle, Daniela Ligiero, Joseph Logan, Greta Massetti

Violence against children is a pervasive global public health and human rights issue, with 1 billion children experiencing at least one form of violence annually. Extensive scientific literature shows childhood adversity, including sexual violence, to be directly and indirectly associated with a host of health and social consequences with a dose–response effect, consequential intergenerational impacts, and sizeable economic ramifications. There is a dearth of population data on the prevalence of childhood sexual violence as well as its antecedents and health and social outcomes, which has hampered violence prevention and child protection efforts globally and locally. Population data are critical, alongside administrative data systems and statistical definitions and classification schemes, for governments to adequately begin addressing violence against children. The absence of national prevalence data has resulted in limited information to guide national policies and prevention strategies, monitor trends, and evaluate prevention efforts. Globally, lack of data on the epidemiological patterns of violence against children has resulted in deficient prioritisation for preventing and responding to this critical problem. Violence Against Children and Youth Surveys (VACS) collect comprehensive data on violence and have been implemented in over 23 countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe and Latin America since 2007. VACS have also been repeated in three countries: Zimbabwe (2011; 2017), Kenya (2010; 2019) and Eswatini (2007; 2022). VACS provide extensive data on the prevalence and contexts of all forms of violence, including sexual violence, therefore allowing for targeted prevention and response efforts. VACS further provide the global research community with data to examine the epidemiological patterns of childhood sexual violence across countries and regions. VACS data have raised awareness and improved understanding of childhood sexual violence in many countries worldwide, and thereby catalysed action. This article draws on VACS reports and empirical publications, to summarise and describe patterns in childhood sexual violence across countries that have completed VACS and shed light on the global prevalence of childhood sexual violence.

BMJ Paediatr Open, 2024. 3p.

By Laura Carlson  

American criminal jurisprudence relies on confidential informants: those individuals who agree to assist police in exchange for leniency. Facing little regulation by legislatures, law enforcement has raised an informant system premised on the exploitation of vulnerabilities and free from basic safeguards that would help to mitigate the moral, mental, and physical harm informants face in the field. While this is generally problematic, the issue becomes more pronounced when considering law enforcement’s use of juveniles to combat crimes perpetrated against and among children. A juvenile’s brain is developmentally distinct from an adult’s. During late adolescence, the brain goes through major maturation processes that significantly affect a juvenile’s ability to assess risk, make forward-thinking decisions, override emotions with logic, and resist social pressures. In other words, the juvenile brain is predisposed to act adverse to self-interests. Within the context of the modern informant system, juveniles engage with police on seriously disadvantaged ground; and because agreeing to assist police has proven to be a death sentence for some, the urgency with which this must be addressed cannot be overstated. America’s tolerance of police discretion with respect to the use of juvenile informants must end. Legislatures can facilitate change by implementing safeguards aimed at mitigating the risks posed by a juvenile’s physiological predispositions. Namely, legislatures should consider implementing mandatory cooling-off periods, a statutory right to counsel, mandatory parental and judicial consent, prescribed documentation and recordkeeping requirements, and enforced training regimens. Absent empirical data that youth at large are better protected by the abolition of the use of juvenile informants, legislatures looking to implement these suggestions or otherwise restrict the practice should be careful to balance proposed legislation with the needs of law enforcement. 

Arizona Law Review, 2023. 26p.

By John H. Boman IV & Owen Gallupe 

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, state-level governments across the United States issued mandatory stay-at-home orders around the end of March 2020. Though intended to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the lockdowns have had sweeping impacts on life in ways which were not originally planned. This study’s purpose is to investigate the extent to which governmental responses to COVID-19 have impacted crime rates in the U.S. Compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019, crime – as measured by calls for service to law enforcement – has decreased markedly. However, there are multiple indications that the crime drop is being driven by decreases in minor offenses which are typically committed in peer groups. At the same time, serious crimes which are generally not committed with co-offenders (namely homicide and intimate partner violence) have either remained constant or increased. As such, the crime drop appears to be hiding a very disturbing trend where homicides remain unchanged and intimate partner batteries are increasing. Since many offenders would presumably be committing less serious crimes in a non-pandemic world, we raise attention to the possibility that mandatory lockdown orders may have taken minor offenders and placed them into situations where there is rampant opportunity for intimate partner violence, serious batteries, and homicides. While crime in the U.S. appears to be down overall, this good news should not blind us to a troubling co-occurring reality – a reality that paints a dim picture of unintended consequences to public health and criminal justice finances as a result of COVID-19 lockdowns.

American Journal of Criminal Justice, 2020. 9p.

By J. Andrew Hansen, Gabrielle L Lory 

Rural criminal justice organizations have been overlooked by researchers and underfunded in the United States, exacerbating problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Access to victims' services has been a longstanding issue in rural communities, but has become more difficult due to stay-at-home orders and changes in daily activities. Requirements such as social distancing, necessitated by COVID-19, have increased the risk of domestic violence and rural service providers are less prepared than those in more populated areas. Rural law enforcement agencies, on the other hand, have traditionally operated with smaller budgets and staffs-conditions that have complicated the response to the unprecedented event. Many of the recommended practices for policing during a pandemic have been more applicable to larger urban and suburban departments with more resources and officers extended across many units. The strain on rural victims' services and law enforcement has been felt only a few months into the coronavirus pandemic, while the long-term effects are not yet known.

Southern Criminal Justice Association, 2020. 12p.

 By David Yerger, Brandon Vick, Robert Orth, and Charles Gartside, 

The project’s primary goal was to investigate whether shocks stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic either triggered or heightened human suffering in two crimerelated areas: murder and abuse. A secondary goal was to identify rural-urban differences in these outcomes both before and during the pandemic. An analysis of homicides and protection from abuse orders over time provided valuable insights regarding crime trends and rural-urban differences, but it did not suggest large, long-term effects due to the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the state. The statewide homicide rate rose 21 percent from 2019 to 2020, but the increase was specific to a certain group and location: Black, male victims in Philadelphia County, murdered with a firearm, with most of these incidents being homicides, with no known relationship between the victim and offender (Philadelphia County’s murder rate increased 36 percent in 2020). In rural counties, the 2020 murder rate rose 24 percent, and in non-Philadelphia urban counties, there was a 3 percent increase. It should be noted that these upward trends came after homicides steadily rose from 2014 to 2018, before falling significantly in 2019, and then rising in 2020. The exploratory analysis on county-levels of COVID case and death rates found no statistical evidence that high COVID-rate counties were more likely to experience high levels of protection from abuse orders or homicides. However, the analysis found that counties with higher unemployment rates and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation also experienced higher murder rates and protection from abuse order prevalence in 2020 (a relationship that holds when tested across other years). 

Harrisburg, PA: Center for Rural Pennsylvania, 2022.  42p.

By Brandon Vick, Robert Orth, Charles Gartside

Information on the prevalence and cost of firearm injury is difficult to find and typically lacks important details. Using a rich dataset from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4), researchers from PCCD/IUP performed a statistical analysis of non-fatal firearm injuries from 2016 to 2021, finding the following: • Initial injury totals and costs: Over the five-year timeframe, an estimated 10,640 new, non-fatal firearm injuries occurred in Pennsylvania for which patients received treatment. The medical cost of initial treatment for these injuries was $308.4 million, or over $51 million per year. The average cost of treatment was $34,837 in 2020. • Rising medical costs and injuries: The number of total injuries increased by 20 percent and the medical cost for these injuries increased by 107 percent from 2016 to 2020. The number of accidental injuries increased by 46 percent (to over 1,000 per year in 2020), with a cost increase of 195%. Assault injuries increased by 5%, with the medical costs of these injuries increasing by 81%. • Rises with COVID: The number of firearm injuries rose dramatically immediately after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting shutdowns. Both accidental and assault injuries rose to their highest levels over the timeframe studied. • Economic and Racial Disparities: The poorest one-fifth of zip codes incurred nearly 60 percent of the total medical costs of firearm injuries. Two-thirds of all patients of firearm injuries were Black, although Black people make up only 11 percent of the Pennsylvania population. • Long-term costs: 16 percent of new injuries require additional hospital visits and incur nearly four times the medical costs, averaging over $70,000 per patient. Over 3 percent of new firearm injuries result in paralysis, increasing costs over the first year to over $100,000. • Full Economic Losses: If values are placed on lost work and lower quality of life, the total economic losses of firearm injury increase by six-fold to an estimated $300 million per year and $1.5 billion. Estimates here should be considered conservative, as they do not consider full costs to society (i.e. disability and unemployment payments) and are limited to costs only incurred during the time of visits for treatment (i.e. not counting long-term rehabilitation). Additionally, they do not include fatal injuries or shootings – for instance, over 600 people are victims of homicide by firearm and at least double that number die by firearm suicide per year. The nonfatal injury findings here are in line with estimates for U.S. injuries made separately by the Government Accountability Office and the Center for Disease Control. 

Harrisburg:  Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency , 2022.  48p.

By Michael T. Light, Jingying Hea, and Jason P. Robey

We make use of uniquely comprehensive arrest data from the Texas Department of Public Safety to compare the criminality of undocumented immigrants to legal immigrants and native-born US citizens between 2012 and 2018. We find that undocumented immigrants have substantially lower crime rates than native-born citizens and legal immigrants across a range of felony offenses. Relative to undocumented immigrants, US-born citizens are over 2 times more likely to be arrested for violent crimes, 2.5 times more likely to be arrested for drug crimes, and over 4 times more likely to be arrested for property crimes. In addition, the proportion of arrests involving undocumented immigrants in Texas was relatively stable or decreasing over this period. The differences between US-born citizens and undocumented immigrants are robust to using alternative estimates of the broader undocumented population, alternate classifications of those counted as “undocumented” at arrest and substituting misdemeanors or convictions as measures of crime.

 Madison, Wisconsin: 2020. 8p.