Unproblematic everyday depictions of children are often appropriated on the Internet and misused for sexual purposes. In order to shed light on the phenomenon, the competence centre at jugendschutz.net researched high-traffic Internet services and those which are relevant to the child abuse scene, in particular social networks, forums, blogs and websites.

Increasing opportunities for interaction on the Internet facilitate the transposition of everyday depictions to a sexual context. This can take place in many ways, in particular by the use of service-specific functions and structures. Linking up depictions with sexualized elements enables the perception of a child as a sexual object.

In order to identify typical elements that lead to the sexualisation of everyday depictions, the competence centre analysed around 400 sources and developed a grid that systematically records their characteristics. This is intended to simplify categorization and assist with assessment of the potential sexualisation of everyday depictions.