Internet sexual offending from an anthropological perspective: analysing offender perceptions of online spaces

ABSTRACT

This paper is based on anthropological research focused on users of online child sexual exploitation material. The empirical foundations are 17 months of participant-observation in UK group programmes for offenders, and semi-structured interviews with group participants and programme staff. While explanations for offending often emphasise individual-psychological characteristics of offenders, I suggest attention should also be given to offender perceptions and constructions of online spaces. For many in the sample, decision-making and the choice to view material were influenced by perceived boundaries and associated altered features of social interaction, said to demarcate online environments from other contexts. Participants perceived online offending spaces as lacking the interaction and potential gaze of others that normally reinforce social norms. This resulted in a feeling of freedom to break norms of childhood and sexuality online, contrasting offline society where such norms are actively reinforced. The article therefore localises factors for Internet offending in social processes.

KEYWORDS:

• Internet sexual offending
• anthropology
• online spaces
• social interaction
• norms

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Sarah-Ann Burger and Pearl Rimer for commenting on an earlier draft of this paper. Thank you to the two anonymous reviewers who provided excellent feedback on an earlier version, and to Hannah Merdian and Derek Perkins for guest editing this journal issue. I would also like to thank Jo Boyden and Caroline Potter for their mentorship. Finally, I would like to thank the fieldwork staff and all participants for providing me with unparalleled access and agreeing to participate.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK under a Commonwealth Scholarship; the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada under a Doctoral Fellowship; and the Royal Anthropological Institute under a Sutasoma Award.