Cases reported in 83 countries, with at least 10,600 students and staff killed, injured, abducted or arrested, GCPEA says

Attacks on education globally have surged by 40% with more than 8,556 recorded incidents and 10,600 students and staff killed, injured, abducted, arrested or otherwise harmed in 2024 and 2025, according to new research.

Attacks were reported in 83 countries, with the highest incidences recorded in Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Palestine and Ukraine.

KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 — Police have warned that individuals who access or possess online child sexual abuse material (CSAM) may escalate to more serious offences, including grooming, sextortion and sexual crimes against children.

Bukit Aman Sexual, Women and Child Investigation Division (D11) principal assistant director SAC Siti Kamsiah Hassan said the trend had been identified through investigations conducted by the division and the Malaysia Internet Crimes Against Children (MICAC) Centre into CSAM-related cases.

She said repeated exposure to CSAM could lead to behavioural addiction, a condition in which individuals are compelled to seek more content and spend longer periods accessing such material.

“Like other forms of addiction, individuals who are continuously exposed to CSAM may require increasingly extreme content to achieve the same level of satisfaction,” she told Bernama.

Siti Kamsiah said investigations had found that online communities sharing the material typically operated within closed groups, whose members often did not know one another personally.

“They are connected by a shared interest in such content. Over time, these groups form extensive networks, as each group develops its own connections and exchanges material with others,” she said.

She said demand for such content also fuelled exploitation, with some individuals selling the material to others for financial gain.

Siti Kamsiah said individuals involved in the possession, storage or distribution of CSAM came from diverse occupational backgrounds, age groups and social strata.

Previously, Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said CSAM cases recorded by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) increased from 68 in 2024 to 152 last year, while 100 cases had been recorded so far this year.

She said the figures could represent only a fraction of the actual situation, as greater internet connectivity and the growing availability of content-generation tools had made such material easier to produce and disseminate.

To address the threat, Siti Kamsiah said the PDRM continued to intensify enforcement operations to detect individuals involved in CSAM-related offences, while also carrying out victim identification processes involving images or videos seized so that rescue operations could be undertaken as quickly as possible.

At the same time, she said the introduction of the Online Safety Act 2025 (ONSA) was seen as an important step in strengthening the country’s ability to tackle online sexual crimes, including those involving CSAM.

She added that previously, cooperation between digital platforms and the authorities had largely depended on voluntary basis, resulting in longer delays in obtaining information and removing criminal sexual content, including CSAM.

She said ONSA places clearer responsibilities on digital platforms to comply with Malaysian laws, thereby facilitating the process of obtaining account-holder information, tracking suspects, identifying victims and removing harmful content more swiftly. — Bernama

Eudaemonius posted a photo:

SReed99342 posted a photo:

Vintage slide purchased from camera shop

Government wants to back parents against tech companies though some feel the process has been rushed

Keir Starmer is expected to announce sweeping “Australia-plus” restrictions on under-16s accessing harmful social media apps, a move the government has framed as taking the side of parents against the big technology companies.

A consultation on online safety closed on 26 May, giving ministers just weeks to come up with policies after receiving more than 116,000 responses. Industry sources and child safety advocates have described the process as “rushed” and driven by a political timeline. It is not clear when the ban could come into force.

den4us posted a photo:

Ladies, children in the garden 1950s.

Sources say hardline measures will also prevent young users from being able to talk to strangers on gaming apps

• Why is the UK launching an ‘Australia plus’ social media ban and how will it work?

Keir Starmer is to ban under-16s from major social media apps such as TikTok, Instagram and X in sweeping restrictions described as “Australia plus”, the Guardian understands.

In a major policy shift far tougher than previously briefed, the prime minister will announce that teenagers will be banned from all the main social platforms. Online products that are not covered by the ban – such as gaming apps – will face new restrictions such as having the option to chat to strangers removed.

A local couple arrested on suspicion of child neglect has been confirmed as the biological parents of an infant born with no medical records, according to local media.

According to DNA test results, Tsang Wai-bong and Kwan Pui-sin are the parents of two-month-old Danny, local media reported on Thursday, citing unnamed government sources.

The parents, who at first opposed the DNA tests, finally agreed to take them on Wednesday, a day after they were arrested on suspicion of child neglect. The government had demanded that they undergo the tests to register the baby’s birth.

According to media reports, Tsang and Kwan were taken to the Immigration Department headquarters to assist with the investigation on Wednesday after they were released from police detention on a HK$1,000 bail.

The baby boy had not had any medical check-ups since birth, which constituted child neglect, security chief Chris Tang said on Tuesday, when he announced the arrests.

The couple said they practised “free births” and that their baby boy was born in Hong Kong around two months ago. His birth has not been registered, although Hong Kong law stipulates parents must register the birth of a newborn within 42 days of delivery.

Free birth, also called unassisted birth, involves a conscious decision to undergo pregnancy and give birth without professional maternity care or medical intervention. The trend has put the lives of mothers and babies at grave risk.

Infant in gov’t care

Stephanie Lee, a senior social work officer at the Social Welfare Department (SWD), said at a press conference on Wednesday that a court had granted the department a child protection order to care for the baby boy.

She said that Danny remained at the Caritas Medical Centre and would be sent to a care home under the child protection order to ensure his well-being. “We can all rest assured that he is now in the care of professionals,” Lee said.

The SWD will submit a report to the court to determine further welfare arrangements, she added.

Speaking to the press at midnight on Thursday outside the Immigration Department headquarters, the parents said they could apply to visit the child, and that they believed he would be safe with the authorities.

“The arrest was well-intended, as [the authorities] helped us clarify the parental relationship and whether we had committed child abuse,” Tsang said. “They were rather concerned about our son, whether medical care had been inadequate and that his parents’ identities had not been confirmed.”

Prior to their arrests, the couple launched a social media campaign in an attempt to regain custody of their daughter, Lily, from the Swedish government. Their admission of practising “free births” gained widespread attention and sparked concern over Danny’s well-being.

According to local media, the couple’s eldest daughter was born at home in Finland but died in infancy, and the Swedish government removed the second child, Lily, from their care due to health conditions.