Australian girls are being actively targeted by online crime networks, who are coercing them into committing violent acts – even against themselves, their siblings, or pets. Authorities describe this as a “twisted type of gamification,” a concerning evolution in gender-based violence.
A specialized taskforce has been established in Australia to combat this growing issue, which the Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner, Krissy Barrett, has identified as a “new and disturbing front in traditional gender-based violence.” So far, three arrests have been made in Australia, with an additional nine individuals apprehended internationally.
While the specific acts remain undisclosed, Commissioner Barrett indicated that the alleged perpetrators hold extremist views and engage in these harmful behaviors for their own amusement or to gain popularity online. These individuals, typically young men in their late teens or early twenties, often target girls who may be experiencing low self-esteem or mental health challenges.
These networks operate similarly to online gaming communities, where they “hunt, stalk, and draw in victims.” They utilize platforms like Roblox and messaging apps such as Discord and Telegram to connect with and manipulate their targets. Commissioner Barrett referred to these perpetrators as “crimefluencers,” highlighting their varied and disturbing ideologies, which include nihilism, sadism, Nazism, and Satanism.
The AFP is collaborating with other Five Eyes nations (the US, UK, New Zealand, and Canada) to dismantle these groups, having identified nearly 60 alleged offenders in Australia alone. Furthermore, technology companies are assisting police in developing an AI tool designed to detect coded language, including emojis, used in encrypted communications related to online exploitation.
This warning comes as Australia prepares to implement a pioneering law that will ban social media for children under 16, aiming to mitigate online harms. However, gaming and messaging platforms are currently exempt from these new regulations, which are slated to take effect in December.