Gina Vale

Online Terrorist Exploitation: Responding to Children as Victims and Perpetrators - VOX - Pol By Gina Vale In December 2021, terrorism charges against a 14-year-old British girl were dropped—not due to lack of engagement with extremist networks, but on account of the power dynamics of her digi...

This article from @ginavale.bsky.social is a stark reminder of how poorly our current frameworks cope with the realities of children’s lives online.

🔗 tinyurl.com/5abeufcj

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#counterterrorism #extremismstudies #youthradicalisation

Thanks so much Lizzie, I'm glad to see it out in the 'wild' too! ☺️

My research calls for a fundamental shift in how policymakers, practitioners, and scholars understand children's vulnerability to radicalisation—one that centres their protection while maintaining community safety. I welcome your thoughts and engagement with this work 🤓

3) My participants highlight significant barriers to implementing such an approach—from legal frameworks that prioritise security over welfare, to institutional resistance, resource constraints, and the complexities of online environments.

2) I advocate for a cross-harm approach, breaking down siloed responses between counter-terrorism and child protection. Effective safeguarding requires coordinated action across both fields.

Key contributions: 1) I propose conceptualising online extremist recruitment as a form of child criminal exploitation. Drawing parallels with county lines + sexual exploitation, I highlight how children are groomed and exploited in digital spaces for ideological gains.

I apply an #exploitation lens to children's recruitment and engagement in terrorism/violent extremism online, drawing from 30 interviews + 2 workshops with experts across #counterterrorism, #antislavery, #childprotection + #digitalsecurity.

Exploited for the Cause?: The Potential for a Cross-Harm Approach to Children’s Online Engagement in Terrorism Abstract. The traditional intersection of exploitation and terrorism lies within armed conflict, whereby individuals are subjected to physical abuses for f

🗣️ New year, new publication! ✍
I'm delighted to share my new article, "Exploited for the Cause?: The Potential for a Cross-Harm Approach to Children's Online Engagement in Terrorism," published #openaccess in the British Journal of Criminology: doi.org/10.1093/bjc/...

🚨 Call for Papers! @alexphelan.bsky.social and I are excited to announce the call for papers for our upcoming special issue on "Learning from Insurgent-Run Education" for Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, please share widely. Proposal deadline is 8 January 2026, and full details below 👇

We welcome submissions from scholars, policymakers, and practitioners—especially those from the Global South and under-represented or minority groups. Both empirical and theoretical contributions drawing on political science, IR, and related disciplines are encouraged 🎉🤓

This special issue invites researchers to analyse the varied forms of insurgent-led education and to consider what these practices reveal about conflict dynamics, relations between civilians and militants, and processes of long-term recovery.

Across diverse #conflict-affected settings, insurgencies have developed complex #education systems that influence local #governance, identity, & post-war pathways. These systems shed light on how armed actors construct legitimacy and anchor themselves within communities.

🚨 Call for Papers! @alexphelan.bsky.social and I are excited to announce the call for papers for our upcoming special issue on "Learning from Insurgent-Run Education" for Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, please share widely. Proposal deadline is 8 January 2026, and full details below 👇

A must-read article by my fab-u-lous colleague @ashkingdon.bsky.social examining the mechanisms and implications of #environmental #governance competition of non-state actors from 2010-2025!
🥳🤓👇

I was delighted to join Miranda Melcher of the
@newbooksnetwork.bsky.social about my book 'The Unforgotten Women of the #IslamicState'. We talked all things intra-gendered governance and local civilian women's acts of survival & resistance 💪
Have a listen 👇
newbooksnetwork.com/the-unforgot...

All thanks to you @ginavale.bsky.social for your *phenomenal* contribution with Hannah Rose on the framings of child terrorism offenders.

This essential paper is available #OpenAccess

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Terrorism and Political Violence Revisiting Terrorist Motivation, Guest Edited by John Horgan and Max Taylor. Volume 37, Issue 7 of Terrorism and Political Violence

The entire special issue on terrorist motivation has just been published, with several pieces #openaccess.

Check it out.

www.tandfonline.com/toc/ftpv20/3...

Terrorism and Political Violence Revisiting Terrorist Motivation, Guest Edited by John Horgan and Max Taylor. Volume 37, Issue 7 of Terrorism and Political Violence

Huge thanks owed to @johnhorgan.bsky.social & Max Taylor for including our work in the special issue, and to James Forest in the publication process. Highly recommend checking out the whole special issue, it's a fantastic line-up, so grateful to be part of it! www.tandfonline.com/toc/ftpv20/3...

These framings feed #safeguarding vs. #securitisation responses that fail to adequately respond to the nuanced realities of children's #radicalisation pathways: e.g. children can be informed AND ignorant, or self-initiated AND susceptible to influence /4

We identified 6 key framings at sentencing: maturity, ideological commitment, thrill-seeking, intentionality, socialisation, and adverse childhood experiences & neurodiversity. All of these draw on youth stereotypes to either over- or under-ascribe agency and terroristic motivation /3

We analyse the mitigating and aggravating factors at sentencing for 43 cases of #children convicted of #terrorism offences in England & Wales. Key finding: the exceptionalism of the "child terrorist" as either unknowingly naive victims or monstrous perpetrators /2

📢 New publication! Really pleased to share part 2 of Childhood Innocence Project with @hannahbrose.bsky.social: "Firm Convictions?: Unpicking Framings of Child #Terrorism Offenders" published in new @terpolv.bsky.social special issue on terrorist motivations /1 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Already another update to the Childhood Innocence project dataset with @hannahbrose.bsky.social.
Now 57 #children convicted of #terrorism offences in England & Wales since 2016. Latest case is an Islamist boy who plotted a gun #attack & planned travel to #Somalia.
icsr.info/childhood-in...

This case highlights crucial gaps in the UK's #counterterrorism apparatus, which is ineffective to prevent and respond to non-ideological risks. But, any broader violence prevention approach must take care to balance national security with children's #safeguarding needs /end.

Like #Rudakubana, the prosecution found no evidence that the Cwmbran boy had an ideology that would fit the legal definition of #terrorism. Thus he cannot be charged with preparing an act of terrorism. He pleaded guilty to one charge (possession of AQ doc) & awaits sentencing /3.

The 17-year-old boy from Cwmbran openly praised #Rudakubana, possessed the same #alQaeda training manual, researched knives, and claimed to have tried to make ricin (since denied). He planned to attack the first #Oasis reunion concert & a dance school near his home /2

Breaking my social media hiatus to share update of Childhood Innocence Project w. @hannahbrose.bsky.social.
Now 56 #children convicted of #terrorism offences in England & Wales since 2016.
Latest case is #Southport copy-cat who planned a "Rudakubana-style attack" /1
t.co/o6lqAMJTs3

Diviser pour mieux régner : la stratégie et l’héritage durable de la gouvernance des femmes civiles par l’État islamique Plus de dix ans se sont écoulés depuis l’établissement du soi-disant « califat » par le groupe État islamique (EI/Daech) en Irak et en Syrie. À son apogée, l’EI gouvernait une population de plus de 11...

L'article de Gina Vale (@ginavale.bsky.social) porte sur la place des femmes présente dans l'État islamique, mais aussi dans la société civile afin de mettre en avant la domination qu’elles subissent.
▶️ lerubicon.org/diviser-pour...

Divide and Conquer: The Strategy and Enduring Legacy of Islamic State’s Governance of Civilian Women This article includes excerpts from The Unforgotten Women of the Islamic State, published by Oxford University Press in September 2024.

How did the #IS use #gendered oppression to secure power?

@ginavale.bsky.social’s analysis dives into how IS #governance divided local #women, stratifying rights and roles to serve their #ideology.

Read more ➡️ buff.ly/o37bBcX

Sharing Childhood Innocence Project here for first time. @hannahbrose.bsky.social and I tracked, compiled & analysed cases of #children (u-18s) convicted of #terrorism offences in England & Wales since 2016.
Our live update reaches total 55 cases & includes a second girl 👇
icsr.info/childhood-in...