Young woman recalls being groomed online before sexually assaulted at age 13
Says she began chatting online before blackmailed into sending explicit videos
Was threatened with release of content unless she agreed to meet in person
Rhiannon became depressed and tried to kill herself after harrowing ordeal
Amount of child sexual abuse material online has soared worldwide in last year
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Australia’s peak sex worker organisation is concerned the Online Safety Bill will have “dire consequences” for sex workers, with many having pivoted to online work as a result of the pandemic.
Gala Vanting, National Programs Manager at Scarlet Alliance, believes the Bill would allow users to complain about any sexual material online by providing extremely broad grounds for “offensive” material.
Ms Vanting said sex workers are already faced with mass censorship, shadow banning and having their content removed from social media platforms.
“Some people work exclusively online, some people work partly online, and some people work in person, but use digital tools to advertise their services, stay safe at work, share safety information and connect with their peers,” she told
Australia's shadow communications minister Michelle Rowland questions whether Facebook's news ban is the "beginning of the end" for the platform in Australia, as eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant calls Facebook out for not doing enough in areas such as child safety.