Australian girls 'hunted' by online gangs to commit violent acts

Groups of young men are coercing and exploiting vulnerable girls "for fun", Australian police say.

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A new Australian taskforce has been set up to help the globe tackle this "new and disturbing front in traditional gender-based violence", Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Krissy Barrett said in a speech on Wednesday.

Three people have already been arrested in Australia, and another nine people around the world.

The nature of the acts being committed by targets were not detailed, but Ms Barrett says the alleged perpetrators hold violent extremist views and want to hurt people "for fun".

Aged in their late teens or early 20s and largely from Western backgrounds, they recruit pre-teen or teenage girls through gaming platforms such as Roblox or messaging apps such as Discord and Telegram.