By Madeline Brashear, Sarah Diaz

Along the U.S.-Mexico border, particularly within California, Arizona, and Texas, exists one of the largest mass graves in the world, both perpetuated and ignored by the U.S. government. Since 1998, the remains of over 7,500 migrants1 have been recovered around the U.S.-Mexico border and over 7,667 are still missing.2 According to data compiled by the Missing Migrants Project, “more lives are known to be lost in the United States of America than in all other countries in the Americas combined.”3 The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has found that the Mexico-United States border is the zone of the most border deaths in the Americas, due in large part to the “harsh conditions of the arduous desert trek,” and is the third-highest zone of border deaths in the world.4 These numbers, while incredibly high, are a significant undervaluation, as thousands of migrants are reported missing each year, yet to be discovered.5 Many of these missing perished in the remote regions of the desert, their bodies will never be recovered, and their stories may never be told. An accurate calculation of the death toll will never be known.6 This brutal reality is the product of our nation’s immigration laws and policies: Border Patrol disguises the impact of its current enforcement policy by mobilizing a combination of sterilized discourse, redirected blame, and “natural” environmental processes that erase evidence of what happens in the most remote parts of southern Arizona. The goal is to render invisible the innumerable consequences this socio-political phenomenon has for the lives and bodies of undocumented people.7 In Arizona alone, the remains of approximately 3,500 migrants have been recovered since 1990. 8 Over one third of those recovered remain unidentified due to the state of decomposition in the harsh conditions of the Sonoran Desert.9 The Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner (PCOME), located in southern Arizona along the Tucson sector of the border, continues to be the agency that investigates the highest number of migrant deaths in the United States.10 While the local medical examiners work diligently to recover and identify missing migrants, the federal government does nothing to ameliorate the problem they created. It leaves that task to the border communities affected by this silent violence. For over twenty years, humanitarian organizations, NGOs, and scholars have sounded the alarm, expecting the United States government to take action to prevent the preventable.11 Instead of enacting policies to stop the deadly policies, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and within it, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) have consistently enacted policies that have only amplified the problem.

CLALS Working Paper Series, No. 44 (Nov. 2023) Washington, DC: American University,

Center for Latin American & Latino Studies, 2023. 38p.

By Sarah J. Diaz, Jenny Lee

In the spring of 2018, United States citizens bore witness to the unfathomable: children, toddlers, and even breastfeeding infants were ripped screaming from their parents’ arms by U.S. immigration officials and then disappeared into government detention. The events that took place shocked the collective conscience, moving American mothers to march with their children to government immigration offices across the country to demand a halt to the program. The policy of family separations, or parent-child separations, was formally announced by the Trump Administration through a memo entitled “Zero Tolerance” and defended by the administration as not only permissible but required by U.S. law. The Biden Administration condemned the phenomenon as a “human tragedy that occurred when our immigration laws were used to intentionally separate children from their parent or legal guardians (families).” However, there have been no pronouncements by the Biden Administration that the Zero Tolerance policy was anything other than a legitimate, albeit unfortunate, immigration policy. The global community cannot allow the Trump Administration’s policy of family separation to be accepted as a legitimate government immigration policy. Instead, it is imperative to recognize that the policy of family separation, and the manner in which parent-child separations were carried out, constitute crimes against humanity. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The following document synthesizes data gathered from litigation, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and publicly available reports written by NGOs, government bodies, and international organizations alike to determine exactly how the Trump Administration’s policy of parent-child separations via Zero Tolerance unfolded. The review uncovered the following key findings of fact explored extensively in the Findings of Fact section of this report: • Throughout the Trump Administration’s four years in power, top government leaders deployed nativist, xenophobic and increasingly inflammatory rhetoric to describe Central American migration. This rhetoric stemmed from the top, emboldening its widespread use amongst rank-and-file officers at the southern border. Trump himself disparaged Central American migration as a “violent invasion” or an “infestation”—at one point calling migrants “animals.” Then-DHS Secretary John Kelly’s rhetoric revealed an attitude of insidious structural racism toward Central American migrants in which he referred to them as “rural people with limited education who don’t have skills nor integrate well.” The rhetoric at the top was replicated by line officials, and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was eventually described as having “a pervasive culture of cruelty aimed at immigrants.” • The Trump Administration implemented the policy of family separation with the specific intent to deter migration from Central America (specifically, from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador – referred to as the “Northern Triangle”). Then-DHS Secretary John Kelly specifically indicated to the media that family separation was being considered to deter future migration to the southern border by Central American families. The policy was only implemented at the southern border and was never carried out along the northern border, coastal ports of entry, or ports of entry in the interior. • Family separation was first carried out in secret, away from the public eye, and denied by the Trump Administration. In the spring of 2017, long before the formal implementation of Zero Tolerance, the government quietly launched family separation pilots in Yuma and El Paso. The Trump Administration denied the existence of the pilot programs even as immigration and child welfare advocates offered evidence of a sharp increase in the separation of infants and toddlers from their parents. • Terrorizing children and families was central to the government’s policy, not merely an unfortunate byproduct. From the beginning of the Trump Administration, the government openly stated that it was considering family separation as a tool of deterrence. While the Trump Administration repeatedly claimed that separation was merely incidental to a policy of prosecution, recently released government emails show an administration furiously working to enforce separation even when it was not necessary, when it could have been avoided, and even when other government agencies were trying to immediately reunify families. The secret pilot programs demonstrated the inevitable harms to separated children (including losing children into detention systems, protracting separation, exacerbating harm) but these lessons were deliberately ignored by the Trump Administration. • The Trump Administration was at all times aware of the unthinkable and lasting harm that the family separation policy would cause to children. Researchers have documented the harm of parent-child separation for decades. In the midst of the Trump Administration’s separation of families, medical experts were unequivocal in their condemnation: family separation causes lasting and profoundly harmful physical and psychological effects on children. The American Academy of Pediatrics described the practice as “state-sanctioned child abuse.” The medical community denounced the practice as a form of child torture. In fact, the government’s own detention facilities recorded family separations as “abuse in DHS custody.” • The Trump Administration exploited harm to children to employ pervasive and illegal coercive practices to force deportations of separated families. One report contains evidence that U.S. government officials used physical and verbal threats, deception and intimidation to coerce separated parents into signing forms to relinquish their right to request asylum and to opt instead for deportation. The trauma of being separated from their children, as well as the coercive environment created by government officials, made it extremely difficult for parents to participate meaningfully in the legal process. Thirty percent of mothers reported that immigration officers threatened that if the mother did not sign the deportation order, they would never see their children again. • As of the date of this publication, the Trump Administration separated over 5,500 children from their parents pursuant to the policy of family separations via Zero Tolerance; an accurate number will never be known. According to government records, at least 5,569 children were separated from their parents by the Trump Administration as of January 20, 2021. However, these numbers do not paint the complete picture. In addition to the unreported numbers from Yuma, multiple agencies have reported parent-child separations that were not registered in HHS records.

Chicago: Center for the Human Rights of Children at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, 2022. 83p.

By Amy Farrell; Meredith Dank; Katherine Kaufka Walts; Callie Hansson; Andrea Hughes; Chlece Neal

The exploitation of children who are working in the United States is a critical social issue. While recent public attention has been directed toward labor abuses of migrant children, there is strong evidence that labor trafficking impacts a wide range of children who experience individual and structural vulnerabilities. Despite public concern about the exploitation and labor trafficking of children, we lack detailed information about what young people are exploited for labor, the contexts under which these abuses occur, and how to best meet the needs of these young survivors – both U.S. citizen and foreign-national. Utilizing data from 71 cases of child labor trafficking either prosecuted by U.S. officials (36) or served by legal advocacy agencies in four U.S. sites (35). Across these cases information was coded for 132 child labor trafficking victims and 145 child labor trafficking perpetrators. Case data was supplemented with in-depth interviews with legal advocates, victim service providers, child welfare, law enforcement and other government officials, as well as adult child labor trafficking survivors, this study fills important gaps in our knowledge

Report to the U.S. National Institute of Justice, 2024. 93p.

By Laura E. McMinn, Juliane A. Kloess, and Zoe Stephenson

Young people with special educational needs (SEN), such as intellectual disability and/or autism, are particularly vulnerable to child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA). This mixed-methods systematic literature review consolidates findings in respect to how young people with SEN are currently being taught about CSEA in the UK, incorporating empirical and practice-based findings to counteract publication bias. Key databases were searched, and relevant organizations were contacted regarding studies published between 2015 and 2022 (inclusive). Thirteen articles met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 10 adopted a qualitative methodology, and three a mixed-methods approach. The thematic synthesis of the qualitative studies identified the following themes: (a) beliefs and stereotypes about CSEA, vulnerability. and risk have led to young people with SEN being misinformed and misunderstood, and (b) anxiety about the topic of sex and abuse creates polarized views regarding CSEA education in adult guardians of young people with SEN. Themes are discussed in the context of societal biases in respect to vulnerability and risk, and these biases are considered to have a negative effect on how young people with SEN are supported. The findings of this review encourage providers of CSEA awareness education to be mindful of not endorsing harmful stereotypes, and to involve parent–carers as much as possible. This review additionally encourages services and organizations to increase focus on practitioner reflexivity and regular training to counteract potential biases in respect to gender, vulnerability, and risk.

Trauma, Violence, & AbuseVolume 25, Issue 3, July 2024, Pages 2503-2520

By Audrey N. Beck, Sheldon Zhang, Kyle Vincent, Kantar Ghana

This study estimates likely child trafficking and exploitative child labor in three fishing districts around Lake Volta in Ghana. Both international and Ghanaian definitions were applied to determine these populations. Targeting children in fishing villages along the coast of Lake Volta, this study used a household-based probability sampling to reach N=1,286 children. Household parent/caregivers (N=489) were also sampled to understand community perceptions of trafficking and child labor in these areas. Among children interviewed, we find that about 38% were likely victims of human trafficking and an additional 45% were engaged in likely exploitative child labor (i.e., excessive hours, harsh conditions). Additionally, we find that children identified as likely trafficked victims are more frequently exposed to dangerous working conditions, physical and psychological harm. Among children, we find: • Approximately 37.7% (CI=34.3,41.1) of children were identified as likely trafficked victims. • The majority of these children were boys (~60%). • These children were about 13 years old on average. • An additional 45.1% (CI=41.6,48.7) were engaged in likely exploitative child labor conditions only, and 17.2% (CI=14.6,20.2) were doing other child work/ help. • About half of all children engage in fishing tasks out on the lake, such as bailing/scooping water, paddling the boat, diving for nets, etc. • Some of these tasks are particularly dangerous, with 15% reporting going underwater to retrieve nets. • About 20% of children said they were not attending school, citing the need to work as one of the most common reasons for skipping school. Likely trafficked children • Many were working in dangerous conditions (28.6%) or working excessive hours, including: ~22.5 per week on average, 34.4% working six days a week, and 13.7% reporting working seven days a week. • More than half worked while it was dark. • 58% of likely trafficked children report extreme fatigue, 55% report severe stomach aches, and 51% report severe back and joint pain. About 40% expressed feeling sad, hopeless, or having little interest in things. • Emotional violence, such as being belittled and insulted, was significantly higher among likely trafficked children (25.3%) than those in likely exploitative child labor (12.3%). A similar pattern emerges for physical violence and threats of violence, with 36.7% of likely trafficked children experiencing such conditions. • Likely trafficked children experienced the highest levels of restrictions on their freedom, perceived exit or work refusal costs, and emotional and physical abuse at work. Among parent/guardians, we find: • Nearly 20% know of a child brought to their village to work, while about 34% know of a child not enrolled in school (most commonly to support their family economically). • About a fifth have witnessed children engaged in dangerous fishing tasks, with about 10% noting they have seen boys being treated badly in fishing. • However, most parent/caregivers believed children enjoyed working in fishing, most commonly because it allowed them to earn money for themselves or their family. • Knowledge of labor laws is lacking, with only 9% reporting their employers are knowledgeable about most labor laws. Using rigorous probability-based methods, this study finds child labor in the fishing industry to be pervasive in the villages along Lake Volta, dangerous and abusive working conditions to be common, and the number of potential child trafficking victims to be alarming. In addition to probability household sampling, we also used population-based calibrations to weight our results. These results point to the need for increased efforts to enforce child protection laws, eliminate abusive working conditions for children, and improve access to child welfare and education services. More importantly, periodic assessment through repeated measures should be built into all anti-child trafficking or anti-human trafficking efforts to evaluate program outcomes and monitor progress.

Washington, DC: International Justice Mission, 2023. 31p.

By Kirsten Singleton, Katrina B. Stone, and Julie Stricker

Past studies have demonstrated the presence of child work, child labor, and child trafficking within Lake Volta’s fishing industry—highlighting that many children live outside the legal safeguards Ghana has established to protect child welfare—and have also documented the hazards and hardships faced by these children. However, prior to this mixed methods baseline study, the extent of child trafficking into forced labor on Lake Volta could only be inferred. The purpose of this baseline study was to document the scope and nature of child trafficking in Lake Volta’s fishing industry. Methodology IJM conducted two primary data collection efforts: 1) an operational assessment in the southern region of Lake Volta in 2013; and 2) a qualitative research study in destination and source communities in 2015. 1. Operational assessment in the southern region of Lake Volta: In 2013, IJM conducted an operational assessment on Lake Volta to determine the scale of child trafficking into forced labor. This assessment was conducted in IJM’s intended project area (the southern portion of the lake, which ranges from south of the Abotasi fishing village and east of the Akosombo Dam). Over the course of 17 days during June and July, data collectors conducted interviews with children and/or adults in a total of 982 occupied boats (canoes) classifying the trafficking status of all children interviewed or observed. 2. Qualitative study in destination and source communities: In 2015, IJM hired a local Ghanaian research firm to conduct in-depth qualitative research in the top three destination and top three source communities identified by the southern operational assessment. In total, the study team conducted 32 focus group discussions with targeted community members involved in Lake Volta’s fishing industry—including young adults who had worked in the fishing industry as children; men in the fishing industry; women in destination communities who host children; and parents/guardians who send children to Lake Volta—and interviewed 51 key informants. To further triangulate information, the study team documented five accounts with survivors of trafficking and profiled six fishing villages in which focus group discussions were conducted. Results - Findings from the distinct yet complementary studies in 2013 and 2015 reveal that the majority of children working in Lake Volta’s fishing industry are 10 years old or younger. This shows that the majority of children are too young to legally conduct the hazardous tasks inherent in many aspects of the fishing industry. Although the 2013 operational assessment overwhelmingly found boys working on Lake Volta (99.3% of children on the southern region of the lake were boys), the 2015 study found that girls also work in—and are trafficked into—the fishing industry. The findings demonstrate that girls have different roles in the fishing industry, completing most tasks somewhere onshore or further inland instead of on the lake where the 2013 assessment occurred. The 2015 study also revealed that both boys and girls have physically demanding, and sometimes hazardous, roles in Lake Volta’s fishing industry. The 2013 operational assessment found that more than half (57.6%, 444/771) of children working on southern Lake Volta’s waters were trafficked into forced labor. In 2015, each of the fishing communities sampled during the qualitative study confirmed the presence of child trafficking. Across destination communities, most respondents estimated that 60% or more of the children working in the fishing industry were born in other communities. In source communities, most respondents estimated that between 20-50% of children leave the community specifically to work in Lake Volta’s fishing industry. Data collection in 2013 and 2015 found that children trafficked into the fishing industry had contractual agreements for their exploitation, which were frequently between the trafficker and the child’s parent/guardian. The 2015 study found that while many perpetrators may be low-income fishermen themselves, they do not use trafficked children merely to survive. In fact, exploiting trafficked children enabled them to send their biological children to school and provide better accommodations and clothing for their own family. One male survivor accounted that, “We were more or less like house slaves, because their own children did nothing.” Thus, several factors distinguished trafficked from non-trafficked children, including: access to education, working conditions—such as working longer hours and being assigned more intense, hazardous, or difficult tasks—and improper clothing and shelter. Physical violence committed against children was widespread in Lake Volta’s fishing industry, with parents/guardians in source communities reporting that children were “beaten like goats.” While trafficked children overwhelmingly experienced violence, this was not unique to trafficked children due to the cultural acceptance of physical discipline in Ghana. Qualitative data in 2015 revealed that traffickers controlled children through violence and limiting access to food; and sometimes kept older boys in their employment through sexual rewards and marriage. The latter control tactics rendered girls in the fishing industry vulnerable to multiple forms of victimization. These means of control combined with the working and living conditions affected trafficked children, with key informants citing that survivors displayed signs of trauma and underdeveloped social skills. Further, although everyone acknowledged that there are government programs in place and NGOs that serve trafficking survivors, the service needs of trafficked children far exceeded the availability and accessibility of services. Recommendations The study’s results revealed the need for a holistic, multidisciplinary anti-trafficking intervention which includes: 1) prioritizing the arrest, prosecution and conviction of perpetrators of child trafficking into forced labor and the related psycho-social support of trafficked children; and 2) reducing vulnerability through increased access to education and through economic empowerment. The information in this report can help inform strategies for the identification and investigation of cases of child trafficking, including: methods to reach hidden populations and routine monitoring of trafficking hotspots. Once identified, trafficked children must be provided with appropriate services by the Ghanaian government as well as other community and non-governmental stakeholders. Findings demonstrate the need for strong trauma-informed recovery services for survivors and reintegration support.

Washington, DC: International Justice Mission, 2021. 98p.

By Bronwyn Arnold

Child sexual abuse is presumed to be inherently harmful. During sentencing, the victim’s harm is relevant as a purpose for punishment and for determining the penalty, and the sentencing remarks communicate the reasons underpinning the offender’s punishment. This article explores a sample of sentencing remarks of sexually abused child sexual offenders made in three Australian jurisdictions between 2005 and 2018. It finds that the presumption of harm is routinely extended to the immediate victims, but rarely extended to victim-offenders. In some cases, judges used language which minimized the victim-offenders’ experiences. The article argues that the presumption of harm should be extended to victim-offenders and their harm acknowledged, to promote sentencing’s communicative function and help to facilitate its rehabilitative purpose.

The British Journal of Criminology,

By International Justice Mission

This study examines the prevalence of commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) in 20 priority cities in the Dominican Republic based on an undercover survey that used quantitative and qualitative methods. Investigators with police training conducted the survey in establishments and public spaces where sexual services are consistently sold. This report presents the current prevalence of CSEC in 2022 and compares it to the results obtained in a 2014 baseline study conducted by IJM (IJM, 2015). IJM used the same methodology in the baseline and endline studies. This report documents a statistically significant reduction in the prevalence of CSEC, which declined from 10.0% in 2014 to 2.2% in 2022. In other words, over the course of eight years, CSEC has become 78.0% less prevalent. Other qualitative data confirm this reduction and suggest it may be due to increased efforts by government authorities. This report also identifies and presents the way in which CSEC currently functions in the Dominican Republic. Although there are various qualitative studies on the efforts of authorities and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs),1 IJM’s 2014 baseline study and the current study are the only reports that use a systematized methodology to document the current prevalence of CSEC in the Dominican Republic. This study therefore offers authorities important information about the current reality of CSEC. This study is part of a concerted effort by IJM to measure the following indicators of protection: prevalence of the crime; people’s reliance on the public justice system (PJS) for protection; performance of the PJS in reported cases; and key stakeholder confidence in the PJS's response. This series of measurements provides evidence of the extent to which the Dominican public justice system has transformed its response to CSEC and sex trafficking throughout the course of IJM’s intervention.

Washington, DC: IJM, 2022. 64p.

By The International Justice Mission

This study analyzes the response of the Dominican public justice system (PJS) to commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) and sex trafficking from 2010 to 2022. It is the first nationwide study of its kind to use a robust methodology and provide concrete data about the performance of the PJS in response to CSEC and sex trafficking, key authorities’ confidence in the response of the PJS, and survivors’ reliance on the PJS for protection. Prior studies have found that CSEC and sex trafficking are widespread in the Dominican Republic and that the effectiveness of the PJS’s response has been inconsistent, with enduring gaps in the area of victim services. These prior studies were qualitative, drawing on the opinions of key government and civil society stakeholders (International Justice Mission [IJM], 2017; Participación Ciudadana, 2022). Ethnographic research on prevalence published by International Justice Mission (IJM) in 2015 found that 10% of people in the Dominican sex industry were minors being sexually exploited. Qualitative studies conducted by IJM and other nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have identified comprehensive services for victims as one of the largest gaps in the PJS’s response (IJM, 2017; Universidad Iberoamericana [UNIBE], 2022). Each year the government issues a report with an overview of the human trafficking cases it has prosecuted (Ministry of Foreign Affairs [MIREX], 2021). However, this report does not describe the quality or speed of the government's response, nor does it measure the progress of cases towards justice or a complete recovery for victims. In short, there is a lack of quality data on the PJS’s response to CSEC and sex trafficking, which hinders efforts to strengthen the PJS and make evidence-based decisions. This study fills this gap, providing data from a review of prosecutor and police case files, as well as interviews with CSEC survivors, government officials who interact with CSEC or sex trafficking victims in critical moments, and officials who hold leadership positions on CSEC and sex trafficking issues. This study's contribution to research on sex trafficking and CSEC in the Dominican Republic is novel for two reasons. First, it includes the voices of CSEC and sex trafficking survivors and upholds them as essential to informing the government's response. Second, it presents quantitative data based on official documents from the institutions that comprise the PJS. This research forms part of a concerted effort to measure the following indicators of protection: prevalence of the crime; people’s reliance on the public justice system for protection; performance of the PJS in reported cases; and key stakeholder confidence in the PJS’s response. This series of measurements provides evidence of the extent to which the Dominican public justice system has transformed its response to CSEC and sex trafficking throughout the course of IJM’s intervention. When laws are enforced fairly and effectively, potential perpetrators are deterred by the higher risk of punishment, which in turn lowers crime rates. Improved performance means the PJS response is swifter and more frequent, cases progress in criminal proceedings, and proceedings meet quality standards. This enhanced performance then increases people’s reliance on and confidence in the justice system, creating a virtuous cycle of confidence and effectiveness that drives a sustained decline in the prevalence of abuse.

IJM: 2022. 123p.

By The U.S. Department of Homeland Security

The prevalence of human trafficking, forced labor, and child sexual exploitation throughout the world is an urgent humanitarian issue with direct and far-reaching consequences on the United States. Within the United States, human trafficking and child sexual exploitation are grossly prevalent and affect diverse communities. These crimes threaten our physical and virtual borders, our immigration and customs systems, our prosperity, our national security, and are a direct attack on Americans’ personal safety and our country’s public safety. Accordingly, the United States has declared it a national priority to end human trafficking, the importation of goods produced with forced labor, and child sexual exploitation. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is on the frontlines of this fight, protecting the country and collaborating with our partners to stop these crimes. To leverage all of our authorities in this fight, DHS developed a first-of-its-kind Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking, the Importation of Goods Produced with Forced Labor, and Child Sexual Exploitation. It represents our vision to end this urgent humanitarian issue, articulates the Department’s long-term approach for combating these crimes, and serves as a framework to prioritize our resources and monitor progress. The strategy outlines five key goals: ONE—Prevention. Reduce the threat by providing information and resources to specific vulnerable populations, schools, and community groups. TWO—Protection. Disrupt illicit activity by identifying and assisting victims toward stability and recovery. THREE—Prosecution. Leverage DHS law enforcement and national security authorities to investigate, take enforcement action, and refer cases for prosecution. FOUR—Partnership. Build strong partnerships throughout the homeland security enterprise as force multipliers across the Nation. FIVE—Enabling DHS. Harmonize and organize DHS programs to allow for maximum efficiency and effectiveness in addressing these threats. Across these five goals there are nine objectives, each with a series of Priority Actions, which will guide the Department in its efforts to combat human trafficking, the importation of goods produced with forced labor, and child sexual exploitation. When implemented, this strategy will strengthen public safety and the security of the border, travel, immigration, and customs systems. It will also assist communities in becoming more resilient against these scourges. DHS is committed to keep fighting against this evil. In collaboration with our homeland security enterprise partners, we will bring trafficking and exploitation to an end and protect communities from further exploitation.

Washington, DC: DHS, 2020. 56p.

By Tom Gotsis

This paper presents data on the increasing prevalence of sexually explicit deepfakes and discusses their harmful impacts. It then examines the relevant Commonwealth and New South Wales (NSW) offences, which were introduced by the Criminal Code Amendment (Deepfake Sexual Material) Act 2024 (Cth) and the Crimes Amendment (Intimate Images) Act 2017 (NSW).

The paper identifies three gaps in NSW’s offences. These gaps are not covered by the Commonwealth offences because those offences apply only when the internet has been used to transmit sexually explicit material. The paper also considers Victoria’s counterpart provisions, which do apply to sexually explicit deepfakes.

Key points

Most of the victims depicted in sexually explicit deepfakes are women.

In 2022, Victoria introduced offences that prohibit producing, distributing or threatening to distribute intimate images of adults.

In 2024 Commonwealth offences were introduced to prohibit a person from using a carriage service, such as the internet, to transmit sexually explicit deepfakes of adults.

NSW does not have offences that expressly prohibit the production and distribution of sexually explicit deepfakes of adults.

The limitations and uncertainties relating to NSW’s intimate image offences could be remedied if they were amended along the lines of the new Commonwealth and Victorian offences

Parliamentary Research Service (NSW), 2025. 25p.

By Sara Kowal, Scott Walker, Zaman Ashraf, Mai Sato

Since 2010, persons convicted of rape offences were executed in at least 9 countries, including India and Pakistan. Moreover, public protests against the rape epidemic, which led governments to introduce capital rape laws, illustrates the need to shine a spotlight in South Asia.

This report examines the use of the death penalty for rape in four South Asian countries: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The report provides an overview of capital rape laws in these jurisdictions, discusses the everyday ramifications of such laws, and explores existing and potential avenues by which advocates may campaign for reform.

Selangor, Malaysia Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network; Clayton, Victoria: Eleos Justice Faculty of Law, Monash University, 2022. 88p.

By Office of the eSafety Commissioner (Australia)

Coercive control is a pattern of abusive behaviour used to control someone within a relationship through manipulation, pressure and fear. It’s not one behaviour or incident, but a pattern of controlling behaviour.

This summary report explores attitudes and expectations that could normalise the use of tech-based coercive control in relationships.

People who use coercive control in a relationship are more likely to use physical violence against their partner and any children involved, and there is a greater risk of physical harm, including intimate partner homicide.

When someone uses digital technology as part of that abusive behaviour, it’s known as ‘technology-facilitated coercive control’ or ‘tech-based coercive control’. This can include behaviours such as monitoring and surveillance, cyberstalking with tracking, impersonation, hacking, harassment and abuse. It is often subtle and targeted and this can make it difficult to identify.

The research aims to understand the prevalence of certain harmful expectations and attitudes relating to tech-based surveillance and micro-management (often elements of tech-based coercive control) in intimate relationships.

The findings highlight the need for nuanced and targeted education and communication activities to:

increase awareness of tech-based coercive control

reshape how people think about digital privacy and respect in digital environments when in an intimate relationship

reinforce that consent is an active and ongoing process.

Key findings

Men, younger adults and linguistically diverse adults were more likely to agree with behaviours that could foster an unhealthy dependency or controlling dynamic within intimate relationships.

Men and linguistically diverse adults were more likely to agree that insisting on checking how an intimate partner looks in a photo, wanting them to be constantly available to respond to the partner’s texts and calls, and constantly texting them were all usually a sign of care from a partner within an intimate relationship.

Men, linguistically diverse adults and married adults were more likely to agree that, within an intimate relationship, it was reasonable for a partner to expect to have their partner’s personal passwords and to track them whenever they wanted.

Canberra: Australian Government, 2025. 23p.

By Ionel Zamfir

This comparative analysis of national legislation on rape in European Union Member States provides an overview of legal provisions on the crime of rape, with a focus on the notion of consent. According to the Council of Europe Convention on combating violence against women and domestic violence, to which the EU became a party in 2023, lack of consent from victims of rape should be made a constitutive element of the crime. This norm, together with increased social awareness of sexual violence, has inspired a wave of legal reforms in many EU Member States.

Brussels: EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service , 2025. 39p.

By Lisa Tompson, Apriel Jolliffe Simpson, Richard Wortley, Bridget O’Keeffe & Devon Polaschek

Policy efforts based on evidence about risk for re-victimisation both protect some of the most vulnerable people in society and have a good chance of reducing crime levels overall (Farrell and Pease, 1993; Grove et al., 2012; Pease et al., 2018). While research has established that the phenomenon of re-victimisation is ubiquitous, less is known about what makes some people more vulnerable to re-victimisation than others (Hamilton and Browne, 1998; Nazaretian and Fitch, 2021). Enhanced understanding of who these people are is thus crucial for developing contemporary victim-centred crime prevention policy. Victimology theories suggest that people at high risk of victimisation are typified by multiple overlapping and intersecting personal characteristics (e.g., gender, age, race/ethnicity, class, disability status, sexual identity), rather than forming homogeneous higher-order groups (e.g., delineated by a single personal characteristic; Shoham et al, 2010; Walklate, 2012). Accordingly, in this study we examined socio-demographic characteristics (e.g., gender, age, ethnicity, disability status, sexual identity) of people who were re-victimised, with an emphasis on intersectionality1. That is, we focused on identifying where the co-occurrence of socio-demographic characteristics intensified risk of re-victimisation. We use re-victimisation as an umbrella term to cover: • Poly-victimisation (i.e., >1 victimisation for different types of crime), and • Repeat-victimisation (i.e., >1 victimisation for different types of crime) for 11 different crime types. We therefore analysed 12 different types of re-victimisation over five waves of the New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey (NZCVS) in the privacy- and security-protected environment of Statistics New Zealand’s Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI) with Conjunctive Analysis of Case Configurations. This method enabled us to position groups (i.e., combinations of characteristics) as the unit of analysis and identify where intersecting characteristics were associated with high rates of re-victimisation and isolate when particular individual characteristics were especially noteworthy. This research makes four important contributions to the evidence base on victimisation. First, while re-victimisation experiences have been studied for a range of crime types internationally (see Farrell et al., 2005), this is the first research to do so for Aotearoa New Zealand. Second, it adds to the scant evidence base on poly-victimisation. Third, it corroborates the empirical findings from other countries that risk of re-victimisation increases cumulatively (Johnson et al., 1997), hence the need for policies and practices that get upstream of the problem and prevent re-victimisation at the earliest opportunity. Fourth, this research advances knowledge on how socio-demographic characteristics intersect to elevate risk of re-victimisation. The findings are relevant for policymakers developing victimisation prevention programmes across various organisations in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Te Puna Haumaru New Zealand Institute for Security and Crime Science, The University of Waikato , 2025. 105p.

By Lena Gunnarsson, Translated by B.J. Woodstein

How does sexual consent work? How do we know that another person really wants to have sex with us? Why do people sometimes give in to sex that they are not in the mood for? And how come it is sometimes difficult to draw a sharp line between sex and assault? Dynamics of Sexual Consent addresses these questions based on deeply personal interviews with 20 Swedish women and men of various ages and sexual orientations. In doing so, it contributes to understandings of sexual consent and sexual grey areas through its combination of conceptual rigour, analytical detail and empirical richness. While starting in the legal definition of consent as voluntary participation, the book broadens the discussion to a wider sociological and philosophical sphere where gendered power dynamics and relational dependencies challenge simplistic understandings of voluntariness. Contesting tendencies to see miscommunication as the key problem related to consent, it shows that emotional aspects are often the main factor standing in the way of genuinely consensual interactions. While the analysis is informed by a gender perspective emphasizing the gendered power asymmetries of heterosexuality, it also foregrounds men’s vulnerability and the power dynamics of samesex interactions. A key argument of the book is that, given the contextual and ambiguous nature of sexual interactions, it is impossible to delineate unequivocal and concretely applicable guidelines for what counts as consent. To compensate for the lack of universal, fail-safe rules, what is needed is an intensified collective reflection on consent and sexual grey areas, which can make individuals better equipped to identify and respect their own and others’ boundaries. An empirically rich and conceptually sophisticated contribution to understanding of sexual consent and sexual grey areas,

London; New York: Routledge, 2025. 284p.

By Nicola Helps, Charlotte Bell, Chloe Schulze, and, Rodney Vlais

This paper summarises the literature on men’s behaviour change programs (MBCPs) and contributes to building a shared understanding of their role in addressing domestic, family and sexual violence in Australia. While MBCPs were never meant to be a panacea for domestic, family and sexual violence, their role and effectiveness in addressing domestic, family and sexual violence is often questioned.

Key insights

• There is variation across MBCPs in terms of program logical and theoretical frameworks, structure (e.g. duration, frequency and intensity) and focus.

• Most people who use violence will never engage with an MBCP service.

• MBCPs are a piece of the broader infrastructure required to address men’s use of violence. MBCPs are a specialist response often connected to criminal justice systems.

• Positive outcomes at the end of an MBCP are most likely to be incremental in terms of reductions in some aspects of the program participant’s violent and controlling behaviours, however, outcomes vary substantially between program participants.

• Behaviour change work is not complete at the end of MBCP participation.

• There is a risk in the limited perpetrator intervention landscape in Australia of an unrealistic expectation for MBCPs in their standard form to be effective for all people using violence.

Key conclusions

• MBCPs are conceptualised as one piece of the puzzle however are yet to be operationalised as part of a fully integrated system.

• MBCPs need to be better funded to provide tailored, holistic and timely services that can support meaningful behaviour change.

• MBCPs need to be embedded collaboratively within the broader domestic, family and sexual violence ecosystem so they can work together with other services.

• MBCPs are only one piece of the response to domestic, family and sexual violence.

Sydney: Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety (ANROWS): 2025. 35p.

By The Australian Law Reform Commission

Sexual violence is one of the most common and serious harms confronting Australia today. When it comes to sexual violence and the justice system there are significant challenges. 9 out of 10 women who have experienced sexual violence do not report to the police. Where there is engagement with the justice system, between 75–85% of reports to police do not proceed to charge. Even fewer reports proceed to court. Once in court, many people report experiencing the justice system as re-traumatising.

This report examines a range of issues with the aim of strengthening and harmonising sexual assault and consent laws in Australia and considers ways to promote just outcomes for people who have experienced sexual violence, including minimising retraumatisation.

The report's 64 recommendations seek to ensure that more people who have experienced sexual violence can access the justice system, meaningfully engage with it and reach a just outcome.

Key findings

Under-engagement with the justice system to be the most significant problem with the justice system’s response to sexual violence.

The justice system is failing to meet the twin goals of access to justice and accountability: it is not supporting those who have experienced sexual violence to engage with the justice system, nor holding those who use sexual violence to account.

Key recommendations

The Australian Government, together with state and territory governments, should fund relevant organisations (including sexual violence services, community legal centres, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, Legal Aid Commissions, and participating legal firms) to provide independent legal services, justice system navigators, and safe places to disclose.

The Australian Government should commission a national inquiry to address the impact of factors such as mandatory sentencing provisions, sentencing discount regimes, and consequences following conviction (such as sex offender registration) on sexual offence matters proceeding to trial rather than resolving via guilty pleas, and measures that may promote early resolution.

The National Judicial College of Australia should be funded to manage and staff an ongoing research team and locate a member of the research team in each of the trial courts to coordinate the building of a shared evidence base.

Flinders Lane, VIC: Australian Law Reform Commission 2025. 72p.

By Dean J. Connolly, Santino Coduri-Fulford c, Katherine Macdonald , Gail GilchristLuke Muschialli

Sexualised drug use (SDU) is a highly prevalent phenomenon of increasing public health significance in communities of men who have sex with men (MSM). This prospectively registered PRISMA-ScR-adherent systematic scoping review examines the current state of knowledge surrounding violence amongst MSM in the context of SDU. A broad search was conducted across four databases, with no restrictions. Studies citing or cited by all database-identified records retained for full-text review were retrieved and screened. Three journals were hand searched across the past five years, and three searches were conducted on Google Scholar. In addition, 13 key opinion leaders were contacted via email to request any additional published or unpublished data. The twentyeight studies included in the final synthesis reported mostly qualitative data from geographically diverse nonrepresentative samples, predominantly relating to sexual violence with other typologies seldom investigated or reported. Although quantitative data were limited, sexual violence appeared common in this context and was directly associated with impaired mental health and suicidality. Some participants reported first- or second-hand accounts of non-consensual administration of incapacitating doses of GHB/GBL to men who were subsequently raped. This was frequently perpetrated by men whose age, status, or financial privilege afforded them power over their victims. While reports from some participants suggested context-specific blurring of the lines of consent, a few quotes demonstrated a dearth of knowledge surrounding the centrality of consent in lawful sex. Given the historical denigration of MSM, any efforts to further investigate or address this issue must be community-led.

International Journal of Drug Policy

Volume 136, February 2025, 104706

By Nicola Helps, Charlotte Bell, Chloe Schulze, Rodney Vlais, et al.

While men’s behaviour change programs (MBCPs) were never meant to be a panacea for domestic, family and sexual violence, their role and effectiveness in addressing domestic, family and sexual violence is often questioned.

This evidence brief provides a summary of the literature on MBCPs, focusing primarily on their role in addressing domestic, family and sexual violence in Australia. It synthesises what is known about MBCPs based on available peer-reviewed and grey literature and practice-based evidence.

A shared understanding of the role and capability of MBCPs is critical for their impact. Expecting significant, transformational change from a single intervention is unrealistic. There is now a growing appreciation and understanding that MBCPs are one piece of the puzzle in a wider system of accountability for people who use violence. Yet the potential outcomes from such collaborative practice are often limited or undermined by how MBCPs have been implemented, or by inadequacies in the broader systemic infrastructure upon which the intended behavioural change relies.

Key findings

• MBCPs are conceptualised as one piece of the puzzle however are yet to be operationalised as part of a fully integrated system.

• MBCPs need to be better funded to provide tailored, holistic and timely services that can support meaningful behaviour change.

• MBCPs need to be embedded collaboratively within the broader domestic, family and sexual violence ecosystem so they can work together with other services towards improved outcomes for victims and survivors including children, as well as improved outcomes for meaningful behaviour change, accountability, increased visibility and risk management.

• MBCPs are only one piece of the response to domestic, family and sexual violence.

Alexandria, NSW: Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety Limited (ANROWS), , 2025. 35p.