A/HRC/31/34 by the financial industry to combat commercial exploitation (A/HRC/28/56, para.28). In addition, financial transactions are more difficult to trace in the context of criminal investigations. 18. According to one non-governmental organization, , online child sexual exploitation is likely to rise in coming years as Internet adoption rates expand globally and demand increases for new child sexual abuse material. The organization and its member hotlines reported a 14 per cent increase in the number of complaints concerning illegal online content handled globally in 2013, and a 47 per cent increase in the number of confirmed reports of child sexual abuse material.5 19. Young victims are often the target of these practices. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, between 2011 and 2012 there was a 70 per cent increase in child sexual abuse material focused on girls under the age of 10 years, and abuse material involving toddlers or babies is not uncommon (A/HRC/28/55, para. 59). The majority of victims are female: 81 per cent of the children depicted in known child abuse material are girls.6 Once online, child abuse images can circulate indefinitely, perpetuating the harm to children. The circulation of such images contributes to the promotion of a subculture in which children are perceived as sexual objects, and also strengthens the belief among those who belong to those communities that it is a “normal” practice since so many others share the same taste for children (A/69/264, para. 96). 2. Grooming 20. One form of exploitation and abuse that is not expressly mentioned in the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child is the solicitation of children, also referred to as “grooming”. This is not a new form of exploitation, since grooming – which involves conditioning the child to ensure that he or she acquiesces to sexual contact – has long been a part of the process of abusing a child. The Internet can, however, accelerate the grooming process (A/HRC/28/56, para. 38) and allow its reach to be internationalized in ways that were previously impossible. The advent of social media has further enabled child exploiters to more readily engage in grooming by using social media platforms to connect with child victims. According to UNICEF, the Internet deconstructs traditional boundaries of privacy by creating situations in which children engage in conversation in apparently private settings, while in fact exposing themselves, wittingly or unwittingly, to an unknown, worldwide audience. The warning signs that can serve to protect children in the physical world, such as physical and behavioural cues, or the appraisal of friends or caregivers – are largely absent online.7 21. While initial concerns focused on offenders who sought to meet children offline, behaviour has changed to include other manifestations. It is increasingly common for solicitation to consist of persuading the child to engage in sexual activity in front of a webcam, the footage of which will then be recorded or to send sexualized photographs to the offender. Once the footage or photographs have been gathered, often the child will be subjected to threats if she or he refuses to produce similar material or to pay money (A/HRC/28/56, para. 38). 5 6 7 6 International Association of Internet Hotlines (INHOPE), “Online child sexual exploitation likely to rise in the coming years”, 16 April 2014. See INHOPE, victim profiles, at www.inhope.org/tns/resources/statistics-and-infographics/statisticsand-infographics-2014.aspx. UNICEF, Child Safety Online (see footnote 3), p. 5.