Grooming, Child Abuse, & Child Sexual Exploitation
Viewing Child Sexual Abuse Material for the First Time: Findings From an Anonymous Survey of Internet Users.
Open Access: No.
Abstract
The number of reports of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) detected on online platforms has increased dramatically in the last decade. Research has suggested that some individuals engage in a progression from typical adult pornography to atypical adult pornography (e.g., bondage, discipline, sadism, and masochism (BDSM), bestiality) to CSAM. Examining the onset to adult pornography and CSAM can therefore help identify intervention points for prevention and disruption. To investigate first exposure to adult pornography and CSAM, we anonymously surveyed a community sample of 5512 adults in five different countries: 742 (13.5%) survey participants self-reported viewing CSAM; 77% were male, 19.5% were female and 3.5% identified as another gender/sex. Majorities of respondents who viewed CSAM (71.2%), BDSM adult pornography (66.6%), and bestiality adult pornography (62.4%) were first exposed to this material prior to age 18. Females were significantly more likely than males to view adult content at younger ages. Younger age of exposure to typical and atypical adult pornography predicted younger age of exposure to CSAM, and respondents aged under 40 years were significantly more likely to view CSAM at younger ages (p < .001). Self-reported CSAM viewers predominantly first discovered CSAM unintentionally (86.1%) and when alone (76%). The findings suggest a need for increased interventions that prevent exposure to CSAM and illegal adult content among adolescents.
Relevance
More than 80% of respondents reported viewing BDSM adult pornography; 40% reported viewing bestiality adult pornography; and 14% reported that they had viewed CSAM. A total of 6% had viewed prepubescent CSAM, too.
“Most self-reported CSAM viewers (71.2%) first discovered CSAM before the age of 18.”
“Early exposure to the three types of typical or atypical [BDSM, bestiality] adult pornography statistically predicted early exposure to CSAM.”
“Almost two-thirds of CSAM viewers first discovered CSAM unintentionally while visiting various websites online, including adult pornography and peer-to-peer sites.” That said, “Even in cases where CSAM was viewed outside of a sexting context, it is possible that engagement with sexting may influence or normalize CSAM exposure among adolescents or vice versa.”
“While most CSAM viewers first discovered CSAM unintentionally…a minority intentionally searched for it, with four times as many searching the Clearnet [the regular internet] than the Darknet.”
Furthermore, “three in five respondents who viewed CSAM depicting prepubescent children reported first exposure to this material when they were under 18 (14.1% of pubescent/postpubescent CSAM viewers and 17.5% of prepubescent CSAM viewers first discovered CSAM intentionally).”
This study, too, “showed some evidence” that “CSAM is used to groom victims of child sexual abuse.”
Citation
Napier, S., Seto, M. C., Shackel, R., Cashmore, J., & McGeechan, K. (2025). Viewing Child Sexual Abuse Material for the First Time: Findings From an Anonymous Survey of Internet Users. Sexual Abuse. https://doi.org/10.1177/10790632251326550
