Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 03, 2024

Self-generated sexual abuse of children aged seven to 10 rises two-thirds

Self-generated sexual abuse of children aged seven to 10 rises two-thirds

Disturbing global trend should be ‘entirely preventable’, says Internet Watch Foundation head

Incidents of children aged between seven and 10 being manipulated into recording abuse of themselves have surged by two-thirds over the past six months, according to a global report.

Almost 20,000 reports of self-generated child sexual abuse content were seen by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) in the first six months of this year, compared with just under 12,000 for the same period this year. The disturbing global trend has grown rapidly since the initial coronavirus lockdown, with cases involving that age group up 360% since the first half of 2020.

The IWF’s chief executive, Susie Hargreaves, said self-generated abuse should be “entirely preventable”, which should include educating parents, carers and children about technology use and sexual abuse within the home.

“Child sexual abuse, which is facilitated and captured by technology using an internet connection, does not require the abuser to be physically present, and most often takes place when the child is in their bedroom – a supposedly ‘safe space’ in the family home. Therefore, it should be entirely preventable,” she said.

“Only when the education of parents, carers and children comes together with efforts by tech companies, the government, police and third sector, can we hope to stem the tide of this criminal imagery.”

The IWF operates a UK-based hotline and also reports on instances of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) around the world. While the fastest increase in self-generated imagery was among the seven to 10 age group, the 11 to 13 age group generates the largest amount of such images reported by the IWF, with 56,000 images flagged in the first six months of the year. There was also an increase of 137% in self-generated images of boys aged between seven and 13.

Self-generated child sexual abuse imagery is typically created using webcams or smartphones and then shared online on a growing number of platforms. The IWF says children are groomed, deceived or extorted into producing an image or video of themselves.

It said most examples occur in bedrooms, where toys, laundry baskets and wardrobes can be seen in the background. In one case, a child can be seen apparently reading instructions on a screen, while in another the edge of a blanket is visible, implying that the victim is ready to quickly shut down or hide what they have been asked to do.

Tamsin McNally, manager of IWF’s hotline, said a number of factors could be behind the growth of self-generated abuse images since 2020. “It might be due to lockdown and children being at home more and having access to the internet, or it could be that we are uncovering more cases because our techniques for finding this sort of content have improved,” she said.

McNally added that the setting of the images and videos was shocking. She said: “This is not some alleyway or dark basement. It is in family homes … sometimes you can hear their parents outside the rooms.”

The IWF also warned in its annual report this year that children as young as between three and six were becoming victims of self-generated sexual abuse. Images are distributed through online forums, having been taken from image host sites. It said the five biggest sites used to store self-generated images of seven to 10-year-olds had not been used for that purpose before.

Hargreaves added that the UK online safety bill was essential for setting a regulatory example around the world. The bill, whose progress through parliament has been delayed until the autumn, requires tech firms to limit the spread of illegal content such as child sexual abuse images.

Companies will be required to report any child abuse material on their platforms to the National Crime Agency, if they do not have an arrangement in place with another body – such as the US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The communications regulator, Ofcom, will have the power to fine companies either £18m or 10% of global turnover and, in extreme cases, block websites or apps.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
EU Urges UK PM Keir Starmer to Consider Youth Mobility Scheme
British Forces Help Thwart Iranian Missile Attack on Israel
Simon Case Rejoins Garrick Club Amid Mixed Reactions
Investigation into Labour Donor Waheed Alli's Register of Interests
Iceman Drug Boss Jailed: Major Crackdown on £76M Trafficking Operation
UK Evacuates Citizens from Lebanon Amid Growing Tensions
Rise in Vaping Among Non-Smokers in England
Earth Faces Severe Geomagnetic Storm from Solar Flare
Keir Starmer’s Corruption Exposed: Bribes (Yet Again), Broken Promises, and a Rigged System Shielding the Powerful
Bank of America Outage Leaves Customers Unable to Access Accounts, Sparks Concern
Iranian Mullah Claims Israel Used Genies to Hunt Hezbollah Leader
Privacy Concerns Over AI Monitoring of UK Bank Accounts
Robert Jenrick Reveals Daughter's Middle Name as Thatcher
Badenoch Criticizes Civil Servants, Jokes They Are 'Prison-Worthy'
UK Treasury Plans Major Infrastructure Cuts
Kemi Badenoch Criticizes Civil Servants at Conservative Party Conference
Thames Mudlarking Permits Resumed with New Restrictions
Decline in Education for Youth Offenders in England
Jimmy Carter Celebrates 100th Birthday
Iran's Missile Attack on Israel: Defeated but a Significant Escalation
Iran President Lauds Missile Attack on Israel as Decisive Response
Russia Criticizes Biden's Middle East Policies After Iran Attacks Israel
US Dockworkers Strike Halts Half of Nation’s Ocean Shipping
Boris Johnson claims in memoir Queen Elizabeth II had bone cancer
Missile Attack on Israel: A Turning Point for the Ayatollah’s Regime?
Teachers in England Approve 5.5% Pay Rise
Robert Jenrick Criticized for Statements on UK Special Forces
Robert Jenrick Faces Transparency Issues Over Campaign Donations
Phillip Schofield Addresses Firing from ITV
UK Charters Evacuation Flight for Britons in Lebanon
UK Shop Prices Fall at Fastest Rate Since 2021
Keir Starmer Urged to Address Rising Energy Bills
Tom Tugendhat Warns Against Tories Turning into Reform UK
UK to Close Last Coal Power Station After 142 Years
End of Traditional Steelmaking as Tata Closes Port Talbot Blast Furnace
Gaza Hostage Families Urge UK Government to Act
UK Braces for Continued Flooding Amidst New Rain Warnings
Post Office Scandal: Capture IT System Likely Caused Shortfalls
Prince Harry Honors Young Heroes at WellChild Awards in London
BBC Apologises to Amanda Abbington Over Strictly Bullying
UK Government Charters Flight for British Evacuation from Lebanon
Chinese Woman With Two Uteruses Successfully Delivers Twins
Putin Vows to Achieve Goals in Ukraine Amid Ongoing Conflict
Impact and Future Actions Following the Assassination of Hezbollah's Leader
Austrian Election: Far-Right Freedom Party's Historic Victory
Microsoft to Relaunch AI Screenshot Tool Amid Privacy Concerns
India Faces High Concert Ticket Prices: Coldplay and Diljit Dosanjh in Focus
Robert Bourgi Unveils Secrets of French-African Financial Ties
Hollywood Faces Crisis After Strikes and Streaming Wars
Missed Red Flags: Qatar's Controversial Acquisition of Harrods
×