A exploração e abuso sexual infantil online na África Ocidental

This policy brief examines the prevalence and risk factors of online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA) in Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Cabo Verde. It highlights a significant gap between official data and actual prevalence, noting that OCSEA is likely drastically underreported due to social stigma and weak identification processes. The document identifies systemic failures in legal frameworks, law enforcement capacity, and victim support, while recommending regional harmonization of laws and increased collaboration between governments and the technology sector.

• Online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA) is likely significantly underreported in Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, and Ghana. While some stakeholders in Côte d’Ivoire and Cabo Verde believed the phenomenon was rare based on a lack of official reports, data from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) shows an increase in incidents since 2019.
• Côte d’Ivoire has the highest number of NCMEC reports among the case study countries and the second highest in West Africa, after Nigeria, averaging approximately 21,000 reported child sexual abuse material (CSEAM) uploads per year between 2019 and 2022. Criminal networks in Côte d’Ivoire are described as professionalized in the use of sextortion schemes for financial gain.
• The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated OCSEA risks and weakened the response. Law enforcement resources were redirected to manage the state of emergency, limiting the capacity to investigate OCSEA and rescue victims, a trend that reportedly persisted after the pandemic. Additionally, the pandemic disrupted informal information sharing and cross-border collaboration.
• Legal frameworks in the focus countries contain critical gaps. Cabo Verde's 2017 cybercrime law does not mandate private sector collaboration or ISP reporting of CSEAM. Côte d’Ivoire's laws lack a definition of CSEAM that includes images of children's sexual organs and do not exclude criminal liability for exploited children. Ghana's 2020 Cybersecurity Act uses the undefined term "sexually explicit behavior" and fails to provide for emergency psychological care for victims.
• Law enforcement and judicial officials face severe technical and systemic barriers. There is a widespread lack of knowledge on preserving digital evidence, and judges and prosecutors are often unable to recognize or accept such evidence. Furthermore, high levels of social stigma and bureaucratic delays discourage victims and witnesses from cooperating in criminal proceedings.
• The role of the technology sector in the ECOWAS region is underdeveloped. While global regulatory requirements are increasing, the lack of national structures hinders accountability. Cooperation between private tech companies and law enforcement remains limited, and Africa is generally not prioritized for resource allocation in OCSEA identification.
• Several promising practices have emerged, including Ghana's 2020 launch of a dedicated Online Child Protection Reporting Portal to facilitate the removal of images from platforms like Facebook. Cabo Verde has introduced training on data protection and safe internet use in secondary schools and universities.

APA

Hoang, T., & Wagner, L. (2023). A exploração e abuso sexual infantil online na África Ocidental. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/OCWAR-T-pb-7-POR.pdf

Chicago

Hoang, Thi, and Livia Wagner. A exploração e abuso sexual infantil online na África Ocidental. Institute for Security Studies, 2023. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/OCWAR-T-pb-7-POR.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hoang |first1=Thi |last2=Wagner |first2=Livia |title=A exploração e abuso sexual infantil online na África Ocidental |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=August 2023 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/OCWAR-T-pb-7-POR.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hoang2023explorao, author = {Hoang, Thi and Wagner, Livia}, title = {{A exploração e abuso sexual infantil online na África Ocidental}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2023}, month = aug, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/OCWAR-T-pb-7-POR.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }