With a great number of people going online in Thailand, more and more children are being lured into participating in so-called live “shows” allegedly directed by paedophiles, child advocates warn.
Speaking at the “Protecting Children from Online Sexual Exploitation” seminar held by Thai Media Fund, Pol Capt Khemachart Prakaihongmanee, deputy director of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs and Transnational Crime at the Department of Special Investigation, said Thailand was experiencing a surge in paedophile activity, with predators orchestrating and watching abuse on live-streaming sites and via webcams, and paying for it with near-untraceable cryptocurrency.
“Paedophiles can now use an array of mobile and online tools — including social networks, video-sharing sites and the dark web — to direct and watch child rape and sexual abuse anonymously,” he said.
“It’s live, nothing is recorded … everything is encrypted. They sometimes pay in bitcoins, or encrypted money, which makes their transactions secure,” he added.
Pol Capt Khemachart also said that easy access to the net and money transfer services make Thailand a global hotspot for paedophilia.
According to data from the Digital Economy and Society Ministry, about 70% of the Thai population either owns or has access to a smartphone, while an estimated 67% of Thais also have access to the internet.
A study in 2018 showed that Thais aged between eight and 12 spend up to 35 hours per week on the net, which is three hours more than the global average, and that 60% of them are at risk of being exploited via online platforms.
Pol Capt Khemachart said that though many websites with child abuse content have been tracked down by Thai authorities and foreign agencies, he believes there is still a “phenomenal” number of inaccessible sites run by paedophiles on the so-called dark net.
The dark net are networks that can only be accessed using specific software that re-routes connections through several servers, allowing users to remain anonymous. Websites on the dark net are not indexed, which means they do not appear when looked for in a search engine like Google.
“Paedophiles sit somewhere in the dark net and access the internet to release material. The harder we work to remove the content, the harder they make it for us to find them,” he said. “There is still a phenomenal amount of questionable content out there.”
Pol Col Khemachart said in order to combat this issue, Thailand will have to improve its national database — a vital tool for finding and identifying both victims and perpetrators — as well as invest more to boost the capacity of law enforcers and police officers. He said Thailand should also consider recruiting more women to the police force.
Pol Col Sarawut Khonyai, deputy commissioner of the Provincial Police Region 6, said that while the internet offers a seemingly unlimited supply of potential victims, it also offers paedophiles a way of making money through the sale of sexually explicit photos and videos to online child pornography rings.
“This economic opportunity has created a new demographic of abusers, people who do not abuse children for personal pleasure, but do it to make money. Since the sale and purchase of child pornography is a crime, the money offered on the black market is quite high,” he said.
Pol Col Sarawut said this places a huge burden on the government and the school system, working to make children aware of the dangers of sexual abuse and online sex trafficking and prepare them to protect themselves and notify the authorities of suspicious behaviour.
Siriwan Vongkietpaisan, director of the Social Responsibility Legal Advocacy Work, said the media can play a vital role in getting the public to understand the changing patterns of child abuse, though they must be very careful when reporting as it can distress the victim.
Bangkok Post
-->Click here to visit our Main UdonInfo Forum Site.
-
UK prisoner extradited from Thailand teste... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Fri, 15:58:02
UPDATE: Neither Mark Rumble nor another suspect deported to the UK have the Covid-19 corona... -
We want more Europeans and more cruise shi... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Fri, 03:53:17
Tourism operators in Koh Samui have called for the government to get more cruise ships to v... -
One in seven public transport vehicles are... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Fri, 07:01:08
About one in seven public transport vehicles have failed safety checks in the first week of... -
Old man harboured a 50 year bullying grudg... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Wed, 03:01:56
Thai caption: Sorry about that mate. A 69 year old man shot his friend of the same age aft... -
Bangkok woman hospitalised after she falls... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Thu, 02:30:03
A 51 year old Thai woman was recently sent to hospital complaining of vaginal pain because ... -
Transport Minister wants to raise the spee... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Wed, 02:41:29
New transport minister Saksayam Chidchob - whose family are famous for having a racetrack i... -
Transport Minister wants to raise the spee... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Wed, 02:34:04
New transport minister Saksayam Chidchob - whose family are famous for having a racetrack i... -
Thai woman's nose job turns foul due to di... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Mon, 05:09:26
A Thai woman in Bangkok went on Facebook after a nose job went wrong. The woman had gone to... -
Thai man sent beautiful Bai Por 2.3 millio... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Sat, 14:11:01
Sanook has reported that a Thai man fell for what he thought was a beautiful woman on Faceb... -
Chiang Mai Airport: Grab car driver says h... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Mon, 01:55:46
A Grab Car driver told the Thai media that he was attacked by officials at Chiang Mai airpo... -
Naked Thai man jumps on pick-up - drugs mi... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Mon, 01:48:31
Our picture from Sanook shows a 22 year old Thai man jumping on the hood of a pick-up truck... -
Electric massage chair almost eats man ali... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Wed, 06:09:06
In Thailand, massages are very popular amongst locals and foreigners. Thai massage shops ca... -
Rapist of granny, 89, caught - but the gra... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Wed, 03:30:18
Police in Trang in southern Thailand have arrested a 71 year old man after he admitted rapi... -
Video: Dog Trashes Car - bugger off and te... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Tue, 03:15:57
A dog owner told their neighbor that they refused to accept responsibility for the damage t... -
The hunt is on for a Thai taxi driver who ... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Wed, 02:09:36
The hunt is on for a Thai taxi driver who took an upskirt picture of a female passenger in ... -
German expats perfect the ' pointing ' sta... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Tue, 06:26:04
Officials in central Prachuap Khiri Khan went to a three story property after complaints th... -
Evidence of prostitution found in Pattaya:... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Tue, 03:43:47
The special administrative department of the Pattaya authorities finally showed the police ... -
Liquids, gels, sprays and food banned from... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Mon, 03:28:46
Sanook said that D-Day for new Civil Aviation Authority bans on a whole host of foods, liqu... -
Chinese tourist in Bangkok caught defecati... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Tue, 05:42:38
Thai Rath reported that a Chinese male tourist had dropped his trousers and attempted to po... -
Outrage after farang stars in Chiang Mai p... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Sat, 03:51:24
Social media users have called for the police to investigate the origins of an adult movie ... -
Villagers in Khon Kaen falling for so-call... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Thu, 00:12:42
KHON KAEN Provincial Public Health official Peera Areerat has warned people against buying ... -
Udon Thani - German pensioner electrocuted... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Wed, 02:30:43
Sanook reported that a 78 year old German pensioner was electrocuted trying to repair a pum... -
German tourist's head bound with duct tape... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Wed, 01:00:00
Ao Nang, Krabi police called to a luxury hotel's 6th floor on Tuesday found a 40 year old G... -
Fired worker went on Bt6m spending spree w... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Tue, 05:44:35
A woman who was fired by her company took revenge by stealing her former boss’s credit card... -
Bikini babes light up record breaking &qu... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Mon, 04:44:35
Cameras were out recording pictures and videos of the attractions at the fourth annual "Cen...
You must be logged in to post a comment.