Briefly: Prioritizing Victim Identification

What is it?

In the child protection space, victim identification refers to an investigative or analytical process to locate and identify victims depicted in child sexual abuse material (CSAM) or related materials with the primary intent to safeguard the victim from further harm and a secondary purpose to apprehend and prosecute the offender(s). As a victim-centered strategy, victim identification has a different focus from some traditional law enforcement approaches to crime that prioritize identifying and apprehending offenders.

NCMEC's Position:

Why does it matter?

When law enforcement and other child protection agencies apply victim-centered approaches to their work, the victim’s well-being is the primary motivator. Properly executed victim identification work is informed by an understanding and awareness of the criminal violation and sexual abuse and harm caused to child victims, including the impact of trauma on victims, and seeks to identify and remove the child from harm whenever possible. Prioritizing victim identification not only stops current abuse and prevents potential future abuse by the same offender, but also fulfills the goals of the legal system to protect child victims. Following identification of a child victim, this approach respects the privacy and dignity of survivors, acknowledges the harm they suffered, and prioritizes their safety and recovery process over other possible justice system outcomes.

A focus on victim identification does not diminish the importance of apprehending offenders and holding them accountable for their crimes. From an investigative perspective, a victim-centered approach can help identify offenders, evidence, and other victims in ways that an offender-centered approach may not. An investigation focused on apprehending an offender for CSAM distribution may focus primarily on factors such as the number of images involved, the type of exploitation depicted, and the online platforms used by the offender. Focusing on the distribution violations may diminish focus on clues that could help identify child victims, witnesses, and other evidence. A victim centered approach can often lead to the identification of offenders, additional victims, physical and electronic evidence, and other information that also supports accountability for perpetrators.

What context is relevant?

In the context of modern child protection efforts, victim identification can be costly in terms of finances, time, and human effort. The development of new technologies, and the adaptation of existing technologies, can help mitigate these costs.

CSAM-based victim identification relies heavily on a process of image and video analysis in which investigators examine all aspects of a CSAM file and related (including non-explicit) imagery to discover clues that could lead to the victim. Elements of a CSAM file subjected to this analysis include the depiction itself, any accompanying sounds (as in the case of a video with associated audio), text communication about or descriptions of the file, and associated metadata.

A victim identification approach to a CSAM investigation acknowledges the abuse depicted, then focuses on other details that could help identify and locate the victim. International collaboration can bolster victim identification, and communication among victim identification practitioners is vital to eliminate redundant efforts and safeguard victims from repeated trauma associated with multiple law enforcement contacts. Deconfliction—the process by which agencies ensure their investigations are not duplicating or in conflict with the work of others—helps prevent unnecessary efforts to identify victims who have already been safeguarded, protecting them from the trauma of additional law enforcement interactions about previously resolved cases. Clearinghouses such as INTERPOL, NCMEC’s Child Victim Identification Program (CVIP), Europol, and other repositories around the world play a vital role in this critical information-sharing element on victim identification efforts.

Technology can accelerate the victim identification process by facilitating object recognition in images; quickly identifying files with location detail in metadata; applying facial recognition to unidentified subjects; and redacting explicit details to limit investigator exposure to harmful content. Time efficiencies can translate to cost savings as less investigator time is needed to process more material. The use of technology also supports staff wellness (by reducing exposure to harmful content, for example) and helps ensure engagement and productivity.

Victim identification work is a specialized discipline, and efforts are most effective when properly trained, experienced, and diverse individuals collaborate across jurisdictions. This is especially important because so much online child sexual exploitation is international in nature. For example, an offender in Europe may collect and distribute CSAM originally produced and depicting children in Asia. Investigators in Asia can more quickly confirm or exclude potential jurisdictions based on personal familiarity with and knowledge of local or regional elements in content (including spoken languages and accents; brand names or logos, landmarks, etc.). An investigator from another country or region might have to expend time and resources to research these elements.

Recognizing the importance of diverse resources to assist on victim identification, various organizations periodically facilitate interagency victim identification operations, bringing together investigators and analysts from various countries and regions to collaborate. These operations work on open CSAM investigations and routinely generate rapid results, including confirmation of relevant jurisdictions, identification and safeguarding of victims, and arrests of offenders.

International collaboration is essential for the success of victim identification and also is dependent on national and local law enforcement agencies to make policy decisions to adequately fund, equip, train, and assign personnel to that work.

NCMEC helped to pioneer modern victim identification efforts with the 2002 formation of what has become its Child Victim Identification Program (CVIP), now a team of 30 staff who analyze CSAM to help identify victims; share analyses with law enforcement to support investigations to safeguard victims; and facilitate interagency connections relating to investigation and prosecutions. CVIP also provides training, participates in international victim identification operations, and supports survivors. In the U.S., CVIP is the nation’s hub for identified child victims of CSAM.

What does the data reveal?

Numerous international and interagency operations over the past decade have contributed to the identification of hundreds of children depicted in child sexual exploitation material and the investigation and arrest of hundreds of offenders. Since 2014, Europol’s victim identification task force operations have supported actions to safeguard more than 700 children and arrest 230 offenders. In April 2024, representatives from 24 countries (including both EU and non-EU member states) joined Europol’s 14th operation, during which they identified relevant jurisdictions for more than 180 cases, leading to four victims being identified and safeguarded and many other investigations still ongoing.

In July 2023, federal law enforcement in the U.S. partnered with other organizations to conduct a three-week victim identification operation. Using artificial intelligence and machine learning models to generate investigative leads on more than 300 cases of online child sexual exploitation, that effort “led to the identification and/or rescue [of] more than 100 abuse victims and the arrests of numerous suspected offenders.”

A 2023 victim identification operation in Australia identified eight victims in Australia and referred information about nearly 80 additional victims to authorities in 14 other counties.

From 2002 through 2023, NCMEC’s CVIP reviewed more than 406 million images and videos in pursuit of its victim identification mission. In 2023 alone, CVIP received more than 4,600 requests from law enforcement to examine more than 32 million files. CVIP is actively tracking more than 40,400 CSAM series—groups of images related to the same victim or victims—depicting unidentified children who analysts are trying to locate and identify.

In September 2024, NCMEC hosted a one-week victim identification operation at its headquarters in the U.S. This operation brought together participants from 21 law enforcement agencies to work alongside NCMEC CVIP staff on victim identification efforts for CSAM cases. Through this operation, NCMEC referred over 225 cases to law enforcement worldwide, with feedback received within the same week period on the recovery of numerous victims.

What have survivors said about it?

While supportive of victim identification efforts, survivors also recommend improvements in post-identification steps, including notification, intervention, and treatment and recovery services. Some survivors, after having negative interactions with law enforcement, support the involvement of civil society organizations in this work to promote more trauma-informed responses.

Survivors also strongly caution against prioritizing one type of child sexual abuse or exploitation victim over any other. While newly produced images may indicate current abuse, an unidentified child depicted in older imagery may also be suffering ongoing abuse, even years after law enforcement becomes aware of an image.

To avoid adding to survivors’ trauma, victim identification specialists should be thoughtful to exercise caution and avoid unintentional harm when making and communicating prioritization decisions. For many survivors, the experiences before, during, and after the victimization are equally important aspects of their recovery process.

NCMEC'S CVIP saved my child's life. The Analyst quickly determined that the abuse was ongoing and prioritized the case to get them out of the situation as quickly as possible. … Without the tenacity of the Analyst and Detective, my child could have endured further abuse if they had not made identification a priority.

- Parent of a survivor

What drives opposing viewpoints?

Explicit opposition to victim identification work is uncommon. To the extent that anyone would voice a conflicting view, it might be based on concerns about resource allocation and questions about impact considering the investments necessary. Some may also argue that a stronger focus on prevention, rather than intervention, would be a better use of limited resources.