- Freedom of Information data shows Police Scotland recorded 2,979 offences of Communicating Indecently with a Child since 2017
- Crimes against under 13s rise by more than 60% since 2017/18
- NSPCC sets out five-point action plan for the Online Safety Bill to systemically tackle sexual violence and prevent avoidable child abuse
Figures obtained by the NSPCC reveal online grooming crimes recorded by Police Scotland reach almost 3,000 in five years, with offences against under 13s rising by more than 60%.
Analysis of Freedom of Information data from Police Scotland shows that in 2021/22 there were 636 offences of Communicating Indecently with a Child, compared with 429 in 2017/18 – a 48% rise. For victims under the age of 13, there was a steeper rise with 369 in 2021/22 and 226 in 2017/18.
Data* from 41 UK police forces across the UK show an 84% rise in these crimes since 2017/18, with a total of more than 27,000 offences in the past five years.
The NSPCC says the sheer scale of offending shows the vital importance of ensuring that the Online Safety Bill effectively tackles child sexual abuse and has practical suggestions for how this is best done.
This should include giving the regulator, Ofcom, the powers to proactively tackle abuse in private messaging, making platforms work together to stop grooming pathways and stopping offenders from using social networks to organise abuse.
One 15-year-old girl who was groomed on multiple sites told Childline: “I’ve been chatting with this guy online who’s like twice my age. This all started on Instagram but lately all our chats have been on WhatsApp.
“He seemed really nice to begin with, but then he started making me do these things to ‘prove my trust’ to him, like doing video chats with my chest exposed. Every time I did these things for him, he would ask for more and I felt like it was too late to back out.
“This whole thing has been slowly destroying me and I’ve been having thoughts of hurting myself.”
Sir Peter Wanless, NSPCC Chief Executive, said: “Online grooming is taking place at unprecedented levels and only concerted action will turn the tide on this tsunami of preventable abuse.
“The crucial Online Safety Bill is the opportunity to deliver the legislative change we urgently need to address head on these preventable crimes against children.
“We strongly welcome the Government’s ambition to deliver world-leading legislation. But as it seems increasingly clear that the pandemic has resulted in a long-term increase in the abuse threat, the current proposals must go further now to tackle online sexual violence and prevent avoidable abuse.”
The charity is asking the public to email their MP to support amendments to the legislation that aim to improve its response to child sexual abuse.
The NSPCC has set out a five-point action plan for the Online Safety Bill to systemically prevent avoidable child sexual abuse.
Polling shows widespread public support for the measures to be adopted so the legislation achieves its ambition of giving children receive a higher standard of protection online.
- Give the regulator powers to proactively tackle abuse in private messaging
Two thirds of child abuse is currently found in private messaging so the NSPCC welcomes that it will be in scope of the Bill.
But the charity wants Ofcom to be given power to proactively require firms to use technology to detect and disrupt grooming and the sharing of child abuse images.
- Make platforms work together to tackle grooming pathways
The NSPCC knows grooming doesn’t just happen on one site and offenders use well known grooming pathways to target children.
Companies should have a clear legal duty to address cross platform harm and legally co-operate with each other to disrupt grooming.
- Stop offenders from using social networks to organise abuse – breadcrumbing
Offenders perfectly legally use social media to form networks, then advertise a sexual interest in children and signpost to illegal child abuse content hosted on third party sites.
The NSPCC wants the Bill amended to combat the waysoffenders facilitate abuse on social media, which it says could prevent millions of interactions with accounts that contribute to grooming.
- Adopt a Violence Against Women and Girls Code of Practice
The Government should commit to a statutory code of practice on violence against women and girls to ensure the Online Safety Bill has a systemic and enforceable focus on online sexual violence.
- A children’s watchdog that represents children’s needs
Children make up one in five UK internet users but are inherently vulnerable, according to the NSPCC. The charity said the Online Safety Bill can achieve its ambition to give children a higher standard of protection by creating a statutory watchdog to promote children’s interests, funded by a levy on the tech industry.
This user advocacy body would ensure child protection is front and centre of regulation, prevent harm by acting as an early warning system to flag emerging risks and call for swift action. This would be similar to the role played by Citizens Advice in the energy and postal sectors.
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