Book Review: Child Sexual Abuse and the Internet: Tackling the New Frontier

AuthorPeter C. Kennison
Date01 March 2005
Published date01 March 2005
DOI10.1350/ijps.7.1.67.63488
Subject MatterBook Review
Book review
Child Sexual Abuse and the Internet:
Tackling the new frontier
edited by Martin C. Calder
(Russell House Publishing, Lyme Regis; 2004; 131 pp. ISBN 1–903855–35–7; £14.95)
Crimes involving the Internet were vir-
tually unheard of 15 years ago when the
start of the 1990s heralded in this new
medium of communication. This review
essay considers this collection of edited
chapters, which are split into two basic
themes. These are ‘Understanding sexual
offenders who use the Internet’ and ‘Assess-
ment and treatment issues’.
The editor, who is himself a well-
respected child protection practitioner and
writer on sex offending, alerts us to the
potential dangers for children when it
comes to the Internet. He has brought
together a number of other practitioners
and researchers in this f‌ield to produce a
high-quality handbook. It not only decon-
structs the Internet at one level but also
alerts practitioners to the speed of techno-
logical change, the potential risks associated
with merging mediums of communication
and the resultant changing nature of sex
offender behaviour.
The editor starts by reviewing the cur-
rent practice and research based literature
on the subject primarily from the US and
suggests that one of the main problems for
practitioners is keeping pace with the chan-
ges. He argues that developing knowledge
about the Internet and its associated termi-
nology and then being able to undertake
investigative and assessment work with con-
f‌idence, will enable practitioners to use this
intervention process as a useful tool. The
author balances the potential harms of the
Internet with its likely benef‌its so as to give
a more pragmatic picture. The author
attempts to differentiate and demystify the
typologies of Internet pornography users
from those who commit hands-on offences
against children. Using empirical evidence
Calder suggests cybersex abusers prof‌ile as
likely to be men aged between 25 and 50
years, well educated, having a higher IQ,
and more likely to be employed and in a
relationship, than hands-on abusers.
The author also showed the likely identi-
f‌iable methods that were employed by sex
offenders in the virtual world of cyberspace.
Within the chapter he used a frame of
analysis, a ten-point scale of severity identi-
f‌ied by Taylor et al. (2001) showing the
degree of sexualised imagery. Within this
section Calder considered the impact the
Internet had on victimisation. It showed
them being victims as hands-on victims in
the f‌irst instance then later hands-off vic-
tims when their images were placed on the
net forever. The procurement of children
was also addressed where the author sought
to identify characteristics or prof‌iles of chil-
dren that made them more likely to become
victims. This was to alert parents to the
possibility that their children might be at
risk. The last part of the chapter focused on
a deconstruction of the functions the Inter-
net had on sexual fantasy and its transfer to
International Journal of Police Science & Management Volume 7 Number 1
International Journal of Police
Science and Management,
Vol. 7 No. 1, 2005, pp. 67–70.
© Vathek Publishing,
1461–3557
Page 67

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