Five Forms of Coerced "Self-Produced" Child Sexual Exploitation Material: A Critical Interpretive Synthesis

Area of Science:

• Social Sciences
• Criminology
• Psychology

Background:

• Child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) is a growing concern.
• Coerced "self-produced" CSEM involves children creating material under duress.
• Existing literature lacks a consistent victim-centered framework.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore and analyze the construction of coerced "self-produced" CSEM in academic literature.
• To identify and categorize different forms of this exploitation.
• To critically evaluate the existing approaches through a victim-centered lens.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature search was conducted using relevant databases.
• Critical Interpretative Synthesis was employed for analysis.
• Inclusion criteria focused on papers from 2005-2022, yielding 38 selected papers.

Main Results:

• Five forms of coerced "self-produced" CSEM were identified: Solicitation, Peer Sexting, Viral Challenge, Sextortion, and Financial Coercion.
• An "Accountability Lens" was developed to analyze coercive actions and center victims.
• A significant gap was found in consistent victim-centered approaches within the literature.

Conclusions:

• Current understanding of coerced "self-produced" CSEM lacks a unified victim-centered perspective.
• There is a critical need to ensure children are not held responsible for their exploitation.
• Further research and consistent frameworks are required to protect child victims effectively.