The Department of Home Affairs is to conduct a new research program aimed at developing innovative approaches to combatting the production of child exploitation material.
The Department’s Child Exploitation Material Reduction Research Program will establish multi-disciplinary teams to explore new solutions to reduce the availability of such material.
Minister for Home Affairs, Peter Dutton said the program would directly support the work of the newly created Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE), based in Brisbane.
“We are using $800,000 taken from the proceeds of crime to fund the research program over two years, using the ill-gotten gains of criminals to directly support research that will ultimately protect and reduce harm to our children,” Mr Dutton said.
The Minister was speaking at a roundtable event for potential applicants to the Child Exploitation Material Reduction Research Program.
The event was co-hosted by the Australian Institute of Criminology and the ACCCE and was an opportunity for potential applicants to meet key stakeholders, hear about issues in tackling the problem and help generate ideas.
“We are bringing together academics, law enforcement, policy makers and industry to undertake research that will focus on ways to reduce creation and distribution of child exploitation material,” Mr Dutton said.
The approach to market was released via AusTender last month, with research proposals to be submitted by 27 November.
