More child sexual abuse is happening online during lockdown and most parents don’t realise it

All the girls we spoke to were reluctant to talk to their parents about the issue, concerned that their devices would be removed, writes Margherita Watt

Abuse takes place across popular social media channels, private messaging apps and live streaming sites (iStock)

Every four minutes, internet analysts in the UK remove a photo or video online of a child suffering sexual abuse. And since the lockdown began, our children are spending even more time online, through home-schooling and keeping in touch with friends.

Yet parents, now facing added work and life pressures, are often unaware of their children’s vulnerabilities online.

As a mother to three children, including a teenage daughter, I feel a great urgency both personally and professionally to tackle this fast-evolving form of child sexual abuse.

The Internet Watch Foundation most often sees images and videos of children aged 11 to 13 being sexually abused, yet tragically it happens to children of all ages. Children are groomed and coerced into performing sexual acts online, in their own homes, often in their bedrooms. It takes place across popular social media channels, private messaging apps and live streaming sites. And sexual abusers do not adhere to traditional stereotypes; they are a diverse group of adults, largely men in their twenties and thirties, who are sociable and technologically savvy.

According to chief constable Simon Bailey, the national police lead for child protection, men aged 18 to 26 are emerging as a new group of online paedophiles. Often desensitised to pornographic content due to overconsumption, they seek more extreme content including child abuse imagery.

At its best, technology and social media connect friends, inspire creativity and help families stay in touch. Right now, technology is keeping many businesses going. But it has also enabled abusers to establish relationships with young people quickly – while traditional models of sexual grooming are more complex and involve steps taken over months or years. Online, the initial contact, request, and production of material, can happen in an evening. Abusers use a scattergun approach to yield results, requesting images and videos from hundreds of children concurrently, in the knowledge that some will respond. All children with access to an internet connected device are potentially vulnerable.

Online sexual abuse is intertwined with complex social issues, and interventions often happen through the community or family. In late 2019, we convened groups of girls aged 11 to 13 and their parents to explore their understanding of online child sexual abuse, and how we might support them in tackling it. The parents we spoke to were universally concerned about their children’s use of devices and online activity. But the majority expressed a lack of knowledge about, or confidence in, responding to online harms.

Some parents had installed protective measures. Most admitted to sticking their head in the sand. This was substantiated by research from Mumsnet in 2018, which found that almost one in five parents and carers in the UK reported regularly letting their children use internet-connected devices without any supervision.

In contrast to parents, all the girls we spoke to were aware of this issue. Many admitted to having friends who had received sexually inappropriate messages and requests from adults. In some cases, they had personally been approached. The girls revealed that these requests had become normalised, with the girls laughing or shrugging them off rather than treating them as a violation of their right to be safe online.

All the girls we spoke to were reluctant to talk to their parents about the issue, concerned that their devices would be removed. In 2017, Parent Zone, a consultancy specialising in digital family life, reported 60 per cent of children aged 12 to16 do not talk to their parents about “difficult subjects they might come across online”. We can assume that the sensitive nature of online child sexual abuse receives even less attention in family discussions.

That has to change. We must adapt to a “new normal”, in which we all are spending more time online. Time is of the essence to empower teenage girls to reject and report requests from adults for sexually explicit material. We have to encourage parents and carers to talk openly about online child abuse and listen to their children’s concerns.

We need to spark a broader conversation among all of us – parents, government, charities, tech, brands and influencers – to deliver a unified approach and message that will connect with teenagers and families. We have to do this, if we’re to protect our young people during lockdown and beyond.

Margherita Watt is executive creative director at Zinc Network, a communications agency dedicated to solving complex social issues, which is working with the Internet Watch Foundation to tackle online child sexual abuse