Bill to fight sex abuse images on Defense computers is bipartisan win

The issue of kid pornography has reached disaster ranges. In all corners of the web, photos of kid sexual abuse are being created, produced, and traded. Final 12 months, greater than 45 million on-line photos and movies of kid sexual abuse materials had been reported to the Nationwide Heart for Lacking and Exploited Kids.

The ache inflicted on these kids is unimaginable. The small print are sickening: an growing variety of the pictures are of infants and kids youthful than 12 enduring probably the most severe types of sexual torture.

Tragically, the U.S. authorities’s work to cease the unfold of this vile content material and produce perpetrators to justice is falling brief. It’s crucial we deal with this downside, wherever it exists.

Huge community hides horrific crimes

Abusers go to simply about any lengths to evade the regulation. They’ve constructed an enormous on-line underworld to cover their crimes. It’s taking place on a variety of platforms and networks – together with the federal government entity we most affiliate with safety and safety: the Division of Protection.

In 2018, the Department of Defense’s network was ranked 19th out of almost 3,000 nationwide networks in the amount of peer-to-peer child pornography sharing. The ranking is shocking. But it’s not entirely unexpected.

A 2006 investigation carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement found that 5,000 individuals – including hundreds affiliated with the Department of Defense – subscribed to websites that contain child sexual abuse images and videos. Out of those 5,000 people, 80 percent of them were not investigated because the military lacked the resources needed to follow up on leads. 

The tools and training the military currently uses are outdated and ineffective. They don’t meet the scope and scale of the problem at hand. Military investigators have requested and must have access to state of the art training and technical capabilities so they are better equipped to take action and put perpetrators exactly where they belong: behind bars.

Law will help military fight abuse

To address the gap in capacity, we introduced the END Network Abuse Act. The bipartisan and bicameral bill would give our military leaders the tools they need to get rid of child pornography on the Department of Defense’s network, go after offenders, and protect innocent and vulnerable children. And our colleagues have recognized the importance of this, by including a version of the bill in the final annual defense bill, which passed the Senate this week.  

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Once enacted, the law will upgrade the training and technical capacity of military criminal investigative organizations. It will direct the Department of Defense to coordinate on jurisdictional issues so cases are referred to the proper authorities. The department also will be required to enter into collaborative agreements with child protection organizations and trauma informed health care providers to ensure that kids who are victimized receive the services they need.

This is a nationwide issue. But for states like Alaska and Hawaii with both significant Department of Defense footprints and large indigenous populations, which have been shown to be disproportionately affected by child sexual exploitation, addressing these gaps is particularly important in stopping cycles of abuse.

A broad coalition of advocates – law enforcement, child protection services and public health organizations – back the measure. Even the Department of Defense expressed its full support for our bill.

This effort to protect our families gained support from both sides of the aisle. Conservatives, liberals – folks from red states and blue states – signaled with their votes Congress’ commitment to combating child exploitation.

Together, we will bring offenders to justice, and we will protect more children. There is no more sacred charge.

Sen. Brian Schatz is a Democrat from Hawaii. Sen. Lisa Murkowski is a Republican from Alaska.