Lawless Spaces and Pathways to Child Sexual Abuse: A Study about Digital Practices for Online Situational Crime Prevention on the Dark Web

The Internet has transformed criminal activities and law enforcement responses, particularly in combating online Child Sexual Abuse (CSA)—a global priority for EU and Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs). Offenders exploit digital platforms, including commercial apps, the Surface Web (SW), and the Dark Web (DW).

A recent pilot study with the Swedish police highlights the need of understanding what role DW-forums play for attracting CSA offenders, and how they find DW-forums. Initial findings, as well as related research, also indicate that traditional justice models struggle to contain the rising “tsunami” of CSA activity, underscoring the need for digital intervention strategies beyond the DW. In response, this project seeks to explore the following questions:

• What role does DW-forums play for enabling pathways to lawless spaces for CSA?
• What kind of digital practices can help the police with online situational crime prevention that identifies and intervenes pathways to lawless spaces for CSA?

Our project is conducted between 2026-2029 in cooperation with the Swedish police, using a mixed-methods approach for collecting/analyzing textbased data from DW-forums, interviews, and literature that address the research questions. We also explore how AI can enhance police's digital practices for disrupting and diverting offenders' pathways. Finally, the project contributes a scientific view on the relations between the DW, SW, and platforms that offenders use to actualize online CSA.