Context

• Recently, Central Bureau of Investigation has joined Interpol’s International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) initiative.

About International Child Sexual Exploitation Initiative

• It is Interpol’s initiative against child sexual abuse.
• The ICSE database uses video and image comparison to analyse Child Sex Exploitation Material (CSEM).
• It makes connections between victims, abusers and places.

  

• Using the image and video comparison software, the investigators attempt to identify locations of markers visible in a piece of media.
• This can be through the signage nearby, the kind of artwork, photos on a wall, etc.
• The detectives in all 68 countries of the grouping can further exchange information across the world.

What has ICSE achieved?

• As of July 2022, over 30,000 victims of child abuse and over 13,000 criminals have been identified by Interpol using this database and software.

Why is CBI’s joining Interpol’s ICSE significant?

• India is the 68th country to have access to this database and software.
• Interpol’s website said that on average, the database helps identify seven child victims everyday globally.
• ICSE initiative will help CBI to collaborate with investigators in other countries for detecting child sex abuse online identifying abusers, victims, and crime scenes from audio-visual clips using specialized software.
• India reported over 24 lakh instances of online child sexual abuse from 2017 to 2020, with 80% victims being girls below the age of 14 years, according to Interpol data.
• More than 60% unidentified victims were prepubescent, including infants and toddlers.
• Around 65% of unidentified victims were girls, but severe abuse images were more likely to have boys, the Interpol said on its website.

What is Interpol?

• Interpol is the world’s largest international police organisation with 195 member countries, and is headquartered in Lyon, France.
• Each member country hosts an Interpol National Central Bureau that connects their national law enforcement to it and in India, the CBI is that nodal agency.
• Pursuant to its charter, Interpol seeks to remain politically neutral in fulfilling its mandate, and is thus barred from interventions or activities that are political, military, religious, or racial in nature and from involving itself in disputes over such matters.
• The agency operates in four languages: Arabic, English, French and Spanish.

Reference: IE

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