In brief
A new report from Australian Federal Police has raised alarms about online crime gangs that target young girls, coercing them into committing violent acts for amusement. These gangs recruit minors through popular gaming and messaging platforms, leading to a series of arrests globally. In response, a task force is being established to combat this growing issue, as authorities aim to introduce measures to protect underage internet users.
Australian girls are being hunted by online crime networks and coerced into acts of violence - against themselves, their siblings or pets - in a twisted type of gamification, police have warned.
A new taskforce has been set up to help global authorities tackle this new and disturbing front in traditional gender-based violence, Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Krissy Barrett will say in a speech on Wednesday.
Three people have already been arrested in Australia, and another nine people around the world.
It is unclear what the acts being committed by targets are, but Ms Barrett says the alleged perpetrators hold violent extremist views and want to hurt people for fun.
Aged in their late teens or early 20s and largely from Western backgrounds, they recruit pre-teen or teenage girls through gaming platforms such as Roblox or messaging apps such as Discord and Telegram.
The boys and men - whom Ms Barrett calls crimefluencers - subscribe to a variety of ideologies, including nihilism, sadism, Nazism and satanism.
These groups have a similar culture to multiplayer, online gaming culture, and hunt, stalk and draw in victims from a range of online platforms. Ms Barrett adds that they may not fully understand the consequences of their behaviour.
The motivation of individuals within these networks is not financial nor is it for sexual gratification – this is purely for their amusement, for fun, or to be popular online.
Almost 60 alleged offenders have been identified in Australia alone, and the AFP is working with other Five Eyes nations - the US, UK, New Zealand and Canada - to target the groups.
This alarming development comes as Australia prepares to introduce a world-first social media ban for kids under the age of 16, aimed at minimising online harm. However, gaming and messaging platforms are exempt from the new laws, which come into effect in December.
