Canberra woman avoids jail for posting video of granddaughter identified as child abuse material by TikTok

In short:

• A 51-year-old Canberra woman has escaped conviction for filming a video containing child abuse material of her granddaughter and posting it privately to social media platform TikTok.

The grandmother’s mistake:

• The grandmother sent the video to the child’s mother, who immediately asked her to delete it, but due to a lack of “tech savvy” she thought deleting the message to the mother deleted the video from TikTok.

What’s next?

• The ACT Supreme Court Justice Belinda Baker said the offending was not committed for sexual gratification or profit, and handed her two one-year good behaviour orders to be served concurrently.

A grandmother has escaped conviction after she filmed and uploaded a video containing child abuse material of her granddaughter to social media platform TikTok.

The 51-year-old woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, sobbed as she learned she would not be convicted of using a carriage service for child abuse and another for committing an act of indecency on a child under 10 years of age.

The ACT Supreme Court heard the foreign national had given the child a naked massage, which is a customary practice in the woman’s homeland, before the offence in January 2023.

Following the massage, the grandmother recorded a video on her mobile phone where she exposed the child’s genitals and saved it to TikTok.

The video was uploaded to her own account and was not publicly available to anyone else on the app.

She then sent a link of the recording to her daughter, who immediately asked her mother to delete it.

Justice Belinda Baker said the offender was “not particularly tech savvy” and believed that if she deleted the message she had sent to her daughter, it would delete the video from her TikTok account.

Two days later, the social media platform identified the video as containing child abuse material and referred it to the US counter child abuse peak body — the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children.

In the weeks after, the Australian Federal Police arrested the woman, taking her into custody for two days before she was granted bail.

When deciding the woman’s fate, Justice Baker described the case as “highly unusual”, and acknowledged the video was not intended to be seen by anyone other than the child’s mother.

Support for young people and families

• The Butterfly Foundation: National helpline 1800 ED HOPE (1800 33 4673), 8am-midnight (AEST/AEDT), 7 days a week
• ReachOut Australia: Confidential online peer support for young people and online resources for wellbeing
• Headspace: Centres in each state and territory or check out eheadspace for online support
• The Kids Helpline: 24-hour support on 1800 55 1800
• Lifeline: 24-hour support for all Australians on 13 11 14

“Generally speaking, the sentence to be imposed for such offences particularly committed by a caregiver must meet for the strong need for deterrence.

“For this reason, offences of this kind in issue of the present case typically attract significant prison terms.”

The court heard the family had become more distressed by the court case than the offending itself, with the child’s mother describing how difficult it was to see her mother in that situation.

“We are just hoping for the best so we can restore … our family,” the mother wrote in a victim impact statement.

The woman has been handed a one-year good behaviour order for each offence, which will be served concurrently.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

The issue of child abuse material and committing an act of indecency on a child under 10 years of age is connected to SDG 16, which aims to end abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of violence against children.

SDG 5: Gender Equality

The article mentions that the offender exposed the child’s genitals and saved it to TikTok. This act can be seen as a form of violence against a girl child, which is connected to SDG 5, aiming to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

While not explicitly mentioned in the article, the issue of child abuse and exploitation can be connected to SDG 10, which aims to promote the social, economic, and political inclusion of all individuals, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion, or economic status.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of violence against and torture of children

The specific target under SDG 16 that can be identified based on the article’s content is to end abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of violence against children.

Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation

The specific target under SDG 5 that can be identified based on the article’s content is to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls, including trafficking and sexual exploitation.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

There are no specific indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets.

Copyright: Dive into this article, curated with care by SDG Investors Inc. Our advanced AI technology searches through vast amounts of data to spotlight how we are all moving forward with the Sustainable Development Goals. While we own the rights to this content, we invite you to share it to help spread knowledge and spark action on the SDGs.

Fuente: abc.net.au

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