Concerns over rise of online child sexual abuse

Reports of online child sexual abuse and exploitation in Scotland have increased by 21 per cent according to new data from Police Scotland.

Between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024, 2,055 cyber-enabled sexual crimes against children were recorded, an increase of 364 on the previous year. 

The National Crime Agency estimates that 1.3 per cent to 1.6 per cent of adults in the UK pose varying degrees of risk to children.

Detective Chief Superintendent Sam Faulds, head of Public Protection for Police Scotland, which leads on child protection, said: “More of us live our lives online and that is particularly true for children and young people. Cyber-enabled crime is on the rise, and increasingly our investigations are focused online identifying offenders and bringing them to justice.

“During the school summer holidays, many more children will be at home and online," she said.

"We want to reduce risk, to stop young people becoming victims of online child abuse and exploitation. Many of our key partners provide advice to young people and their parents about keeping safe online."

Police Scotland has launched its latest #GethelpOrGetCaught campaign to prevent OCSAE, targeting individuals who may already have offended or be at risk of offending.

It signposts them to the Lucy Faithfull Foundation Scotland’s Stop It Now service which offers advice and support to prevent offending.

Faulds went on to say: “Our role is to target offenders. Our prevention campaigns offer them a way to stop, a route out before they offend, before a child becomes their victim, before other lives are damaged."

The Police Scotland campaign will run for six weeks across various social media platforms including Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat, and Spotify.

The majority of perpetrators of online sexual abuse are male (9 per cent). Most victims are female (54 per cent).