Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation through Livestreaming in Indonesia: Unequal Power Relations at the Root of Child Indonesia: Unequal Power Relations at the Root of Child Victimization Victimization

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Abstract

Child sexual abuse and exploitation through livestreaming is a rising phenomenon of online child sexual abuse and exploitation in Indonesia. This phenomenon takes place in both offline and online spaces. Moreover, due to the active involvement of the viewers, these content viewers can also be considered as offenders. Thus, it is necessary to recognize this phenomenon as a crime against children, instead of merely a sexual act. By using a criminology perspective, this research explores the roots of this phenomenon, the impact on survivors, and the child protection system’s actions against it. This qualitative study used secondary data analysis, derived from a total of nineteen Indonesian news articles as well as five cases of child sexual exploitation and abuse through livestreaming. Power relations theory by Michel Foucault is used to explain the power relations and victimization in this phenomenon. The analysis shows that unequal power relations between adults and children contribute to the phenomenon. The unequal power relations include how societies perceive children, victim-blaming, gender inequality, and the existing situation of the porn industry, which places the children in vulnerable positions. The child survivors in these case studies were found to experience multiple victimizations, including sexual abuse in real life and online in conjunction with economic victimization. These victimization processes are prolonged due to the fact that sexual content is rapidly shared by the offenders; thus, the situation can be described as chronic revictimization. Indonesian systems for protecting children against such crimes were found to be inefficient due to the absence of legal terminology to define child sexual abuse and exploitation through livestreaming and the lack of laws that can be used to punish the viewers.
Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of International Women's Studies
Volume25
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - 23 Apr 2023

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