Cases of sextortion have soared by 400 percent in some states in the last 18 months.

Targets and perpetrators

Young people are navigating a digital world where one in seven minors are asked for nudes by a stranger online on a weekly or even a daily basis.

This complex moral and social challenge demands our collective attention, because despite ongoing research and reports calling for urgent national action, public awareness remains low.

The vast majority of four-year-olds are using the internet in some capacity, according to research. By the time those children turn 11 years old, the majority of children are using it unsupervised.

A report in 2022 revealed that of all 9-12-year-olds, the majority (two out of three) interact with unfamiliar adults online. One in six children have had romantic or sexual conversations with an online-only contact.

There is no longer an ‘online' and ‘real' world dichotomy here; for young people online is the world in which they live, meet friends and navigate relationships.

Perpetrators of online sexual exploitation are accessing children through gaming, chat functions, video calls, dating apps, social media applications and other platforms.

Recent cases of sextortion in Australia are dispelling myths of grooming occurring over long periods of time, allowing for identification and intervention.

Instead, evidence reveals that grooming can take multiple forms (often involving the deception of posing as another young person), and the grooming process, including the solicitation of images, can occur over a matter of hours, often with devastating consequences.

At particular risk are young people in out-of-home care, who identify as LGBTIQ+, who have multicultural or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds, or who are living with a disability. Children from these cohorts are increasingly seeking connection via online platforms.

The notion of ‘stranger danger' is not effective here. In around 50-70 percent of cases of online child sexual abuse, the abuser is known to the child.

Research shows that adolescents who are known to the victim inflict the highest proportion of child sexual abuse, with adolescents in a romantic relationship close behind.

Nonconsensual sexting and/or distribution of self-generated images are increasingly associated with acrimonious adolescent relationships.

According to a 2022 report by the World Health Organisation, almost all the nonconsensual-distribution offenders against youth were themselves young people.

'Grooming can take multiple forms (often involving the deception of posing as another young person), and the grooming process, including the solicitation of images, can occur over a matter of hours, often with devastating consequences.'

Access to technology

Any conversation about increased unsupervised access to technology must address one key consequence: heightened exposure to pornographic content, whether stumbled upon innocently or sought out deliberately.

In Australia boys are, on average, aged 13 years at the time of their first exposure to pornography.

Exposure to pornography can strengthen attitudes supportive of sexual violence and violence against women and harmful sexual behaviour between adolescents.

A report from the eSafety Commissioner in 2023 revealed that young people described online pornography as an avenue to learn about sex.

Mitigating this problem from a schools standpoint faces numerous challenges, especially around consistency and quality of preventative education.

Myths and misconceptions that age-appropriate sexual health and safety education in schools ‘promotes' sex, and that sexual abuse is ‘happening elsewhere', continue to hamper the urgent discussion needed to increase sexual safety knowledge in Australian schools.

Providing sexual abuse evention programmes

The Victorian Child Safe Standards for education providers state that young people should be offered access to sexual abuse prevention programmes and to relevant information in an age-appropriate way.

There's a need to build our confidence and capacity to educate young people in this space.

At minimum, Australia needs a well-resourced, consistently implemented, and rigorous sexual health and safety education programme that builds upon the existing Respectful Relationships curriculum.

One such professional learning programme designed to meet these challenges is Power to Kids, from the MacKillop Institute, designed to strengthen prevention and responses to child sexual abuse, harmful sexual behaviour and dating violence for young people in residential care and school settings.

We often hear from schools of the need for deeper training for educators to build their knowledge and capacity to better prevent, identify and respond to indicators of abuse.

The long-standing gap in sex education is now impacting the confidence of the current generation of teachers who have been charged with the responsibility to teach the next generation.

Educators require the support of their school system leaders, parents and the wider school community to put that training into practice.

They need to have confidence that having sensitive and informed conversations with young people about sexual safety will be viewed as aligned with the duty of care to keep children safe and will not result in punitive action.

We also need to get better at fostering proactive conversations around ways to seek help.

A key strategy we teach through the Power to Kids programme is having ‘brave conversations' around sexual safety.

Aligned with the One Talk at a Time campaign, it is important that parents/carers and educators raise sexual safety topics proactively when opportunities arise, and ask questions or raise concerns when they notice possible indicators of abuse.

Creating safe environments

The Royal Commission confirmed that it can take over 20 years for a child to disclose sexual abuse.

Disclosures can be partial and nonlinear and are more likely to be made to a peer or sibling. This means that having proactive conversations can help establish safe environments for young people to come forward, ask questions or seek support when needed.

The other important reality for parents to grapple with is that their child may be the one causing harm. Creating safe environments for young people to share potentially problematic behaviours and have them addressed are just as critical.

A common anxiety among professionals working with young people is that addressing child sexual abuse is too daunting a problem.

There is a wide perception that the problem of child sexual abuse to ‘too big' or ‘too hard' to take action that will make a meaningful impact. This can lead to a sense of helplessness, being overwhelmed, which can lead to a lack of public engagement.

That lack of engagement has been a longstanding concern.

Research conducted by ACCCE in 2020 revealed that many parents, carers, and educators hold negative attitudes towards the topic, but this hinders their ability to implement effective prevention measures by ‘disassociation or limited engagement'.

To make things additionally complicated, victim-blaming is more likely in instances of online sexual abuse.

The ACCCE report revealed that 80 percent of parents/carers would respond with anger at their child if they found out they had shared images online, and 73 percent would be angry if their child spoke with strangers online.

‘Many participants reported that they would be more angry at their child in the instance of online child sexual exploitation than if the abuse happened in the offline world.

This was because they assumed their children should "know better" and could easily "just switch off" the device to protect themselves'. Some parents also reported they would not report or seek help due to shame and embarrassment of perceived ‘bad parenting'.

Despite these beliefs, 89 percent of parents believed their children would tell them if something happened to them online.

Ultimately, shame and stigma can still overshadow our desire to protect and believe our children.

Unchecked, our discomfort can prevent us from educating ourselves and our children, and prevent us from listening, believing and responding to children when they come forward.

What to do

To effectively address child sexual abuse, we need to foster a sense of shared responsibility among technology companies, corporations, financial institutions, law enforcement, schools, and therapeutic services.

Collaboration across all aspects of prevention and response is essential. Victim-survivors have highlighted the need for greater consistency in quality, trauma-informed practices, collaborative problem-solving, information sharing, and communication within the service system.

Additionally, it's important to acknowledge that our attitudes towards sexual abuse are often shaped by our personal experiences and education, which may include trauma.

It's crucial to acknowledge that many educators, parents, and carers may have experienced abuse themselves. Self-care is essential as we educate ourselves on this important issue.

A shift in public attitudes will require an investment in both prevention strategies and effective responses for victims of abuse.

That means developing proactive approaches that encourage open conversations with young people, encourage help-seeking, and foster safe environments for discussing sexual safety.

• First published in Eureka Street
• Smeeta Singh is National Programs Director Power to Kids, a professional learning programme within The MacKillop Institute that strengthens prevention and responses to child sexual abuse, harmful sexual behaviour and dating violence for young people in residential care and school settings.

"Whereas the Covid-19 pandemic is a grave matter at hand, it should not in any way be used to compromise the rights and dignity of the citizens" of Kenya, Bishop James Wainaina of the Diocese of Murang'a said May 7.

Because "vaccines or drugs may have side effects on the citizens, we must be convinced of the safety of the same and preservation of the citizens' dignity."

"Everything should be done with maximum openness, and testing should not be carried out on unsuspecting citizens," he added. Read more

In 2016, PNG provided 29% of China's tropical log imports, making it the country's single largest supplier.

The report notes that, on paper, the legal system in PNG guarantees that indigenous Papua New Guineans have control over their forests.

"In reality, however, the government is responsible for a catastrophic failure to uphold these laws, and the forest sector has been plagued for decades by allegations of corruption and lawbreaking."

The investigation reveals how a large number of logging operations in PNG violate the law despite their holding government-issued permits.

China is the world's largest consumer and manufacturer of wood and wood products.

Yet it has no regulation to keep illegal timber from entering its borders.

The report says the timber trade has profound implications for PNG.

70% of the country is covered by forest ecosystems that are home to some of the world's rarest plants and animals.

The forest is also central to the cultural traditions and livelihoods of PNG's eight million people.

By continuing to import tropical timber from PNG on such a scale, China is driving the destruction of a vulnerable and ancient forest, the report says.

The report makes two recommendation for action by China and six for action by PNG.

Source

• globalwitness.org
• >theguardian.com
• Image: globalwitness.org

Lucetta Scaraffia, who is the editor of the Vatican magazine "Women, Church, World", says "Until now, no one has had the courage to denounce these things."

She says nuns work as cooks, cleaners and waiters for cardinals, bishops and priests.

The article is based on comments from several nuns.

They describe how some work in the residences of "men of the Church, waking at dawn to prepare breakfast and going to sleep once dinner is served, the house is in order and the laundry cleaned and ironed".

In many cases, the nuns, who take vows of poverty, receive no pay because they are members of female religious orders.

They are sent to the residences of male Church officials as part of their assignments.

In the past, most of the nuns working as domestic help in male-run residences or institutions such as seminaries were local nationals. These days, many come from Africa, Asia and other parts of the developing world.

The article says what most saddened one of the nuns she talked to was that "they are rarely invited to sit at the table they serve".

Instead, they are made to eat in the kitchen by themselves.

One nun said she knew of fellow sisters who had PhDs in subjects such as theology.

They had been, with no explanation, ordered to do domestic work or other chores that had "no relationship to their intellectual formation".

Another pointed out that many nuns did not have registered contracts with the bishops, schools, parishes or congregations they worked for, "so they are paid little or not at all."

One nun said that "nuns are seen as volunteers to have available at one's calling, which gives rise to abuse of power."

The article pointed out the experiences of such nuns could be transformed "into a richness for the whole Church, if the male hierarchy sees it as an occasion for a true reflection on power [in the Church]".

Besides the described domestic work, several nuns have senior roles in Vatican departments that look after religious issues.

Pope Francis does not have nuns as servants looking after him.

Instead, he lives in a Vatican guest house which is run like a hotel.

He eats in the main dining room which is staffed by paid waiters.

Source

• La Croix
• The Guardian
• Sydney Morning Herald
• Image: Independent.ie

The Executive Committee of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania (CEPAC), which covers Australia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and New Zealand, met in Auckland last week.

In a statement issued at the conclusion of the meeting the Bishops said, "the place of the sea in the lives of the peoples we serve was a central focus of our meeting."

The statement said:

"Our common ocean is teeming with life and goodness. For many of our peoples the sea is their treasured source of nutrition, sustenance and livelihood.

"In solidarity with them, Psalm 107 resonates in our hearts: 'those that do business in the great waters, they behold the world of the Lord and his wonders in the deep.'

"We are acutely aware of the impact of climate change on island nations and some of our number have been visiting communities and recording the destruction of shorelines affecting them.

"On a happier note we are heartened to learn of the systematic and coordinated opposition to seabed mining which turns the ocean floor into a stage of exploitative destruction of ocean habitats.

"Our interest in the'Blue Economy' is to uphold a model of development that respects the fundamental importance of sustainability that looks way beyond any perceived short term economic windfall.

"Members of Parliament and local Governors and other civic authorities have a particular duty to promote long term economic and social development and to be vigilant in guarding against any attempts by international businesses to exploit our common resource.

"We applaud government, community and private initiatives to develop water ecotourism and sustainable sea fishing.

"We are not 'anti-development'. We look to the common good and thus advocate for an integrated approach to development where local customary practices are respected and communities are assisted to grow employment opportunities."

Read the bishops' statement

Source

• NZCBC
• Image: deepseaminingoutofourdepth.org

Acting chief immigration officer, Solomon Kantha said Tennent's visa was cancelled by Immigration and Foreign Affairs Minister Rimbink Pato because of his alleged involvement on landowner issues.

He said the decision was based on a complaint from landowners in East New Britain.

The Post Courier reports that Kantha has told the archbishop of Rabaul, Francesco Panfilo, that Tennent, can re-apply for a new visa and work permit.

However, the archbishop has refused to do so unless he receives reassurance from the Foreign Affairs Department that Tennent can return.

He is also demanding to know who lodged the complaint letter.

The landowners' umbrella company's, Memalo Holdings Ltd, managing director has denied that they are responsible.

Wesley Pagott said although the members of Sigite Mukus Integrated Rural Development Project (SMIRDP) disagreed with with what Tennent has been doing, they were surprised to hear that he was deported.

Memalo Holdings was originally incorporated listing six separate landowner companies as shareholders.

They were all incorporated on the same day. Two have since been delisted.

Memalo controls the land on which the SMIRDP is being developed by Rimbunan Hijau Group (PNG).

The Group has a diverse set of interests that encompass forestry, timber processing, palm oil, transport, media, retail and property development.

It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rimbunan Hijau, a company based in Sarawak, Malaysia.

The Acting Governor of East New Britain, Cosmas Bauk, has pledged his support.

He said he would do everything in his power to make sure that Tennent can return to continue on with his work.

Bauk said he was disappointment at the manner in which the current government has been doing its business without regards to the people's plight for justice and what they rightfully claim as theirs.

He commended the church for their efforts in assisting the people in Pomio and East New Britain and would stand with the church in this fight.

Source

• postcourier.com.pg
• news.pngfacts.com
• postcourier.com.pg
• rhpng.com.pg
• greenpeace.org
• wikipedia.org
• Image: radionnz.co.nz

Despite a court order staying his deportation, Douglas Tennent was forced to leave PNG on Monday after being told on Friday by immigration officials he was abusing the conditions of his religious worker visa.

Now back in New Zealand Tennent said he wants just two things.

"One of them is to return to PNG to continue my work with the archdiocese in helping local people on infrastructure and land issues," he said.

"And the other thing I want is for immigration to spell out to me how I breach my visa and if any groups have got concerns about my actions, set them out so I can respond. I have had no opportunity to respond."

In a statement issued on Tuesday the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands , said Tennent was deported for fighting for justice for the voiceless in Papua New Guinea.

The archbishop of Rabaul, Francesco Panfilo, says Tennent was working for him on disposing of church and other lands, a housing project for low-income earners and helping those negatively affected by a huge palm oil project, run by multi national Rimbunan Hijau.

Rimbunan Hijau, which has wide interests in PNG, has a huge oil palm plantation at West Pomio in East New Britain.

Panfilo said the claim by immigration that Tennent had illegally involved himself in sensitive land issues was false.

Tennet is a well-known and respected author on immigration and refugee law issues.

He worked from 1984-1992 as an advocate in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea court and prison system under a joint project of the Anglican and Catholic Churches.

From 1998 until 2002 taught in the Faculty of Law, University of Papua New Guinea. He was also the Associate Dean.

He then spent some time on the faculty of law at Waikato University.

From 2009 till 2011 he was a legal advisor in the Solomon Islands.

Source

• radionz.co.nz
• radionz.co.nz
• radionz.co.nz
• store.lexisnexis.com.au
• Image: lexisnexis.co.nz

In the week February 26 to March 5, the TV show which reconstructs a cold case, then invites psychics to solve said case was the ninth most-watched show on New Zealand television screens for all viewers over five; third best in the advertiser-friendly 25-54 demographic. Read more

A federal loophole allows American boats to employ workers in the dangerous industry for years at a time - provided they never step foot on shore.

An investigation has uncovered many of the workers live in horrendous conditions, are forced to use buckets instead of toilets and suffering running sores from bed bugs, and are paid as little as 70 cents an hour.

"People say these fishermen can't leave their boats, they're like captives," said U.S. Attorney Florence Nakakuni in Hawaii.

"But they don't have visas, so they can't leave their boat, really."

Associated Press obtained confidential contracts and interviewed boat owners, brokers and more than 50 fishermen in Hawaii, Indonesia and San Francisco as part of an ongoing global look at labour abuses in the fishing industry.

Last year, the AP reported about fishermen locked in a cage and buried under fake names on the remote Indonesian island village of Benjina.

Their catch was traced to the United States, leading to more than 2,000 slaves being freed.

But thousands more remain trapped worldwide in an industry where work takes place far from shore and often without oversight.

On some boats the fishermen are paid as little as $350 a month, but many make $500 to $600.

A lucky few get a percentage of the catch, making it possible to triple their wages.

The men are willing to give up their freedom to take these jobs because the pay is better than they can make back home in developing countries where many people live on less than $1 a day.

Source

• thedailymail.co.uk
• Image: thedailymail.co.uk

He made the observation during last week's National Conference on Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative.

"I felt that there's no justification for the poor land owning tribes who were always the losers in their own lands.

"The country is not ready for mining!"

Nickel was discovered in Isabel more than 40 years ago, and an Australian mining company Axiom, has been speculating on the region's substantial deposits for several years.

Mining interests in the country have moved quickly in recent years from a single development at Gold Ridge, to recent operations in Rennell, and progressing plans for nickel and bauxite mining in Isabel, Choiseul and Wagina.

In 2011 the company signed a 50-year deal with landowners for a 45-square kilometre area estimated to contain nickel ore worth almost US$60 billion.

Mason said that before going into the mining sector, existing laws and legislations must be reviewed and land owning tribes empowered.

"Our existing laws seemed outdated and must be reviewed to patch up the loopholes.

This is to make sure we don't repeat what happened in our forestry sector.

"For us Isabel people and the entire nation, we need to understand mining because it would be worse than the logging industry if there's no review of our laws and people were not well aware of its impact."

"Land owning tribes were always blinded and bulldozed by little money that the companies lied to them with," he said.

"We must not repeat but to learn from our neighbouring nation Nauru, where what can only be seen were pinnacle of rocks standing idle there. Their resources have been taken away."

At the Forum the Minister for Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification David Day Pacha made the commitment to review mining legislation to ensure the industry is beneficial to its stakeholders.
at a national mining forum in Honiara last week.

Pacha says the reform programme will cover processing, negotiations, compliances, royalty, management and the protection of the environment from the effects of mining.

He says the reform will consider the loopholes and weaknesses within the Mines and Minerals Act and bring in amendments to ensure past mistakes are avoided.

In 2014 Mason was also called back to Melanesia to chair a discussion on plans for mining on the province.

The meeting brought together more than 150 delegates from the church and the community, as well as developers and government officials.

Mason was installed as a paramount chief of Isabel in 2010.

Before taking up his current position in England in 2004 Mason was the first diocesan bishop of Hanuato'o, where he served for 13 years.

He is presently vicar of St Maurice Church in Plypton and an assistant bishop of the Diocese of Exeter.

The Diocese of Hanuato'o was inaugurated at St. George Church now renamed as St. Peters Cathedral, Kirakira on 29^th day of June 1991.

There are no regions setups in the Diocese as in other dioceses, except for Parishes.

The diocese has 15 Parishes and 32 active clergy.

The diocesan headquarter is in Kirakira, Makira Ulawa Province.

Source

• solomonstarnews.com
• anglicannews.org
• books.google.co.nz
• www.acom.org.sb
• radionz.co.nz
• Image: melanesia.anglican.org

The Hornby house, in Christchurch, has 20 beds. Six of them are bunk beds. Two are in a small sleepout.

The workers said the house was full at one point last year.

A recent visit found 15 Filipino workers sharing two small kitchens, two toilets and two small bathrooms.

The property manager, Mountfort Park Apartments' Tom Hu, said migrant tenants were difficult to manage.

"People always think that we exploit them but if you break down all the costs, the owners don't get as much as people think." Continue reading

The anti-slavery foundation released its Global Slavery Index which said nearly 36 million people are enslaved worldwide, two-thirds of them in the Asia Pacific region.

The report defined slaves as people subject to forced labour, debt bondage, sexual exploitation, and forced marriage. Continue reading