Author(s): Sana Ali, Saadia Anwar Pasha
Internet technology accompanying ease of access and ease of use is a significant concern that facilitates sexual violence against children. Consequently, crimes against children are organized, complex, and cannot be identified in many cases. Thus, we also aimed to discuss and highlight Online Child Sexual Abuse (OCSA) and its impacts globally since it is a briskly growing yet under discussion phenomenon. We used the Systematic Review Approach for the current article to extensively examine Child Sexual Abuse in Cyberspace and its potential impacts. We randomly select n=5 major online research databases, including GoogleScholar, ScienceDirect, PubMed, DOAJ, and APA PsycNet, to gather the relevant articles. Further, we executed PRISMA flowchart method for the article selection purposes. After screening the article under inclusion/exclusion criteria, we shortlisted n=29 most relevant articles. Cited literature indicated that the internet is a powerful platform for producing and sharing child sexual abuse-based material that can work instantaneously and anonymously accessible for individuals with deviant sexual interests. As a result, online sexual abuse causes suicides, hostility, panic attacks, depression, disgust, shame, and others among the victims. Sometimes, these impacts are at their peak when parents do not support victims, leading to self-harming behaviour. Thus, an increased number of sexual crimes against children questions children security and rights preservation in Cyberspace. Although such studies are conducted, we need more literature to highlight the causes, types, and impacts of Online Child Sexual Abuse to ensure a better future for the young generation.