How you can participate

We are engaging with victims and/or survivors of child sexual abuse or exploitation who are currently located in Australia (the experience of abuse does not need to have occurred within Australia). We are particularly interested in hearing from victims and survivors whose lived experience includes knowledge that visual imagery or other content exists that depicts their abuse or exploitation. This material is often referred to as Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).

You can participate in one or more of the following ways:

Anonymous survey

We invite victims and survivors of child sexual abuse to take our anonymous survey, whether or not CSAM is part of your lived experience. The purpose of the survey is to gather information about awareness and understanding of legally sanctioned use of CSAM by institutions to counter child sexual abuse.

One-on-one Interviews

We are currently conducting one-on-one interviews with victims and survivors of child sexual abuse where CSAM is part of the lived experience. We are especially interested to hear from male victims and survivors, those who identify as First Nation peoples, and those from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds. We will be conducting interviews until the end of July 2024.

The interview for this study is a chance to be heard and to contribute to policies and practices that will support survivors, and I can definitely say that I felt listened to, validated and safe when sharing my story.
KW, Lived experience advisor

For me talk with Kelly was so powerful, while I’ve done a lot of counselling, psychology and worked on my inner healing every day the 1-1 interview was something that gave me a feeling of finally speaking out for Little Me, it gave me hope that Little Me’s voice and story will make a difference for others into the future.
SB, Lived experience advisor

To learn more about the interview process, including consent, data collection, privacy and our ethics approval, your can dowload the formal research victim and survivor research Explanatory Statement.

If you want to participate in an interview and express your views in person, please connect with Kelly Humphries via our contact page or email her directly at kelly.humphries@monash.edu. (Remember, in-person interviews will only be conducted with those who have a living experience where your abuse has been recorded/photographed etc.).

An earlier phase of this research, where we interviewed professionals with experience in organisations that use CSAM to counter abuse, has concluded.

Validation and communication of research findings and recommendations

Once the interviews are complete, we will be inviting victims and survivors of child sexual abuse with CSAM experience to review and comment on our findings and recommendations for policy and practice. If you wish to participate in this, a summary of identified themes, key insights, and recommendations that result from the research will be sent to you, asking for feedback or any new insights. Once finalised, we want to work with victims and survivors to help communicate these to broader communities (victims and survivors, law enforcement, justice, researchers, the general public, and so on).

If you want to participate in these validation and/or communication activities, please connect with Kelly Humphries via our contact page or email her directly at kelly.humphries@monash.edu. (Remember, findings/recommendations validation/communication can only be conducted with those who have a living experience where your abuse has been recorded/photographed etc.).