Has war increased online risks for Ukrainian children

Published: 8 October 2024 at 13:00

Initial analysis finds an almost three-fold rise in mentions on dark web since invasion

Researchers at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) believe that Ukrainian children could be facing an increased risk of being exploited or sexually abused online because of the war with Russia and the opportunities the conflict has created for offenders.

Initial analysis of the dark web by ARU researchers indicates that Ukrainian children are being discussed by offenders in online forums almost 300% more frequently than before the invasion in 2022.

Now ARU's International Policing and Public Protection Research Institute (IPPPRI) has been awarded $250,000 of funding from US-based Safe Online to extend this work, which will be the first major European study to investigate the impact of war on the online safety of children.

Thanks to the funding, ARU is launching the Dity Online project - 'dity' is Ukrainian for 'children' - to survey and collect data from 1,500 Ukrainian children and their parents.

Around half of all Ukrainian children have been displaced from their homes and for these children, much of their education and socialising has moved online. The project aims to understand the nature and extent of online child sexual abuse in Ukraine, and the impact of conflict on children's online behaviour and safety.

ARU will be working with partners including the Psychological Services department at the National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine, whilst also analysing dark web forums to understand how offenders are seeking to exploit opportunities created by the conflict to target children online.

Professor Sam Lundrigan, the Director of the International Policing and Public Protection Research Institute (IPPPRI) at ARU, said:

Dr Anna Markovska
, Deputy Director of the International Policing and Public Protection Research Institute (IPPPRI) at ARU and the lead for the project, said: Safe Online is the only global investment vehicle dedicated to keeping children safe in the digital world. For more information about Safe Online, visit https://safeonline.global

More information about ARU's International Policing and Public Protection Research Institute (IPPPRI) is available at https://www.aru.ac.uk/international-policing-and-public-protection-research-institute

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