eprintid: 10194959 rev_number: 6 eprint_status: archive userid: 699 dir: disk0/10/19/49/59 datestamp: 2024-07-23 10:50:28 lastmod: 2024-07-23 10:50:28 status_changed: 2024-07-23 10:50:28 type: article metadata_visibility: show sword_depositor: 699 creators_name: Wortley, Richard creators_name: Findlater, Donald creators_name: Bailey, Alexandra creators_name: Zuhair, Dana title: Accessing child sexual abuse material: Pathways to offending and online behaviour ispublished: pub divisions: UCL divisions: B04 divisions: F52 keywords: Indecent images of children, Child sexual abuse material, CSAM, Sexual offending prevention, Sex offending pathways note: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third-party material in this article are included in the Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ abstract: Background: Most research examining the consumption of online child sexual abuse material (CSAM) has focused on offenders' demographic and psychological characteristics. While such research may assist in the development of therapeutic interventions with known offenders, it has little to offer the development of interventions for the vast majority of offenders who are never caught. Objective: To learn more about the offending strategies of CSAM offenders, in order to inform prevention efforts to deter, disrupt, and divert individuals from their pursuit of CSAM. Participants & setting: Seventy-five male CSAM offenders, who were living in the community and were voluntarily participating in a treatment programme. Methods: Participants completed a detailed self-report questionnaire focussing on their pathways to offending and their online behaviour. Results: Most participants reported that they did not initially seek out CSAM but that they first encountered it inadvertently or became curious after viewing legal pornography. Their involvement in CSAM subsequently progressed over time and their offending generally became more serious. The most notable feature of participants' online behaviour was the relative lack of sophisticated technical expertise. Opportunity and other situational factors emerged as mediators of offending frequency. Offending patterns were affected by participants' psychological states (e.g., depression, anger, stress), offline relationships and commitments (e.g., arguments with spouse, loss of job), and online experiences (e.g., blocked sites, viruses, warning messages). Conclusions: Findings suggest that many offenders are receptive to change and may be potentially diverted from their offending pathway. date: 2024-08 date_type: published publisher: Elsevier BV official_url: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106936 oa_status: green full_text_type: pub language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green verified: verified_manual elements_id: 2298831 doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106936 lyricists_name: Wortley, Richard lyricists_id: RKWOR37 actors_name: Wortley, Richard actors_id: RKWOR37 actors_role: owner full_text_status: public publication: Child Abuse & Neglect volume: 154 article_number: 106936 citation: Wortley, Richard; Findlater, Donald; Bailey, Alexandra; Zuhair, Dana; (2024) Accessing child sexual abuse material: Pathways to offending and online behaviour. Child Abuse & Neglect , 154 , Article 106936. 10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106936 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106936>. Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10194959/1/Wortlety%2C%20Findlater%20Bailey%20Zuhair%202024.pdf