1.3.2. Challenges of CSAM Disclosure to Investigators

In investigating hands-on abuse, law enforcement investigators cannot depend on victim disclosure of CSAM to determine whether the abuse was recorded by photo, video or both. It is estimated that 60–80% of victims of CSA do not disclose that their abuser took photos or videos until adulthood (Alaggia 2010; CCCP 2017; Hébert et al. 2009). Furthermore, most cases of CSA are not reported to law enforcement, and of the reported cases, even fewer appear before the courts (Martin 2013). The CCCP (2017) Survivors Survey found a multitude of reasons why CSA victims may not disclose that there is photo or video documentation of their abuse, including shame, fear of consequences if the footage is uncovered, and a belief that the existence of their CSAM somehow incriminates them as well. Most often, the existence of CSAM is ascertained when a victim discloses to their therapist (86%) and is rarely uncovered as part of a police investigation (12%) (CCCP 2017). Disclosure to law enforcement of CSAM at the time of hands-on abuse may increase the likelihood that police can confiscate and contain these images before they are trafficked on the internet.

Unfortunately, investigators unfamiliar with the complex nature of enduring CSA trauma may not consider victims to be "credible" when they disclose their abuse while it is ongoing, let alone months or years after the abuse has occurred (CCCP 2017). This skepticism toward victims' testimonies not only compounds the victim's trauma, but is also one of the principle reasons perpetrators are not identified, charged, and prosecuted (CCCP 2017). The disclosure of the existence of CSAM when hands-on abuse is disclosed could have significant implications for the success of CSA investigations, as CSAM is a visual depiction, and thus, irrefutable evidence that the abuse occurred (CCCP 2017).
