In the past year, almost 150,000 youngsters in Scotland are estimated to have encountered internet sexual abuse. That exceeds 400 children daily.
According to specialists from the global child safety centre Childlight, Police Scotland received over 2,000 reports last year, although this figure does not accurately represent the full magnitude of the issue.
The revised figures exceed the recorded instances of cyber-enabled sexual offences against children by over 70 times.
The prevalence of online grooming and sexual exploitation of children is increasing globally, encompassing offences such as the non-consensual acquisition, dissemination, or exposure to sexual photos and films.
Some minors also become victims of extortion or are coerced into transmitting increasingly explicit content.
Professor Deborah Fry, the head of data at Childlight, characterises the research as “gold standard.”
An estimated 300 million youngsters globally have encountered at least one instance of online exploitation or abuse in the previous year.
Professor Fry stated: “We compiled all of these studies from representative surveys of children and adolescents, reflecting their own experiences.”
“We subsequently employ statistical methods to aggregate the data and generate regional estimates.”
Childlight, organised by the University of Edinburgh and founded by the Human Dignity Foundation, asserts that Police Scotland is crucial in ensuring accountability for offenders and in avoiding additional abuse against children.
Nonetheless, the disparity between victim estimates and police-recorded statistics on Scottish instances indicates that the pandemic beyond the capacity of law enforcement alone.
It posits that the “pandemic” can be concluded through enhanced focus on preventive strategies, encompassing education, legislation, and international cooperation.
The data is derived from Childlight’s Into The Light initiative, which investigates the incidence of online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA).
“We conducted a multi-country study of men in the UK, US and Australia around their behaviours online,” explained Professor Fry.
“We found in the UK that one in 14 men self-reported committing online offending behaviours, ranging from deliberately looking at child sexual abuse material, to paying for sexual content involving children, or engaging in sexual conversations with children online.
“I think being able to see the true scale is incredibly important – not only for frontline services to make business cases for investment but also to understand we need to take a preventative approach.
“We really need to be thinking about how we stop this from ever happening in the first place.”
Paul Stanfield, Childlight’s chief executive, believes it can feel impossible for victims of child abuse to speak about what’s happened to them.
“It’s the level and stigmatisation people feel,” he told Scotland Tonight. “I’ve been approached by people who have kept it to themselves for 50 years.”
Mr Stanfield recognises how vastly underreported such crimes are due to the shame felt by victims.
In October, Alexander McCartney was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison.
The 26-year-old pretended to be a teenage girl, going on to abuse and blackmail children around the world.
The Northern Irish man admitted 185 charges, including manslaughter, after a 12-year-old girl he was abusing took her own life.
The investigation into his prolific crimes was triggered after a young girl in Scotland reported what had happened to her.
“3,500 victims were identified but only four reported it to the police,” said Mr Stanfield.
Childlight is calling for online child abuse to be treated as a public health issue due to its prevalence and the lasting damage it can cause.
Mr Stanfield would like social media platforms to do more to keep children safe and is also urging governments to bring in more regulation.
“Unfortunately at the moment, because there’s no regulation on the internet, it really is the Wild West. Anything goes,” he said.
“So what you’re doing is trying to play catch up. (Social media) is a key enabler and it has grown exponentially as a result of it. You’ve provided child sex offenders with a platform by which they can come together.”
A spokesperson for the UK Government said the introduction of the Online Safety Act next summer will introduce strong safeguards for children online – and that platforms that fail to protect children from online sexual abuse could face significant fines.
She says children calling in are sometimes very distressed, with call handlers at the charity often the first adults that child victims reach out to.
Ms Burke said: “Initially, we want to know how the young person is feeling about it.
“And once they feel they’re in a place that they’re ready to talk about what’s happened, or maybe want to look at next steps, that’s when we can start introducing what they want to do about it and how we can support them to get there.
“What we don’t have is a blanket approach of ‘just go and tell your mum’ because they might not be the safest person. But once we’ve established their relationship we’ll slowly work towards that.”
Ms Burke says young people contacting the helpline often feel “blind panic” at being snared by an online predator.
They worry about being publicly exposed and that it will impact their future life chances, such as going to university or getting a job. Last year, more than 2,000 children reached out about sexual exploitation online.
“We want them to know 100% they’re not alone with it,” she said. “It feels incredibly isolating when this happens to you. But I’d like to think when a young person comes to Childline they can hear an adult saying to them, ‘it’s ok, there’s things we can do’.
“It’s important for parents to discuss the pros and cons of being online with children so they are aware of potential harms. Online predators are incredibly skilled at finding victims and gaining their trust.
“It would take two hands for me to count how many times I’ve heard, ‘I thought they loved me’. They can pull people in so authentically that adults wouldn’t be able to decipher it as somebody that’s not genuine.
“So how are we expecting young people who haven’t been online to decipher it? It’s never, ever the fault of the young person.”
Aoife’s Story
Five years ago, aged just 15, Aoife found herself targeted by an online predator.
“One minute you’re 15 and having fun on a social media app and then the next thing you’re suddenly in so much trouble and you feel like you’re the only person in the world and you don’t know where to turn with it.”
Busy studying for her national five exams, Aoife also spend a lot of time online and on social media. She describes her use of social platforms as “second nature” and “everyone had it”.
While chatting online to who she thought was a boy her own age, he asked her to download another app which was an encrypted private messenger.
“After we were messaging a while, he asked for pictures of myself. And I did it. I was 15.”
But after she shared an intimate photo of herself, the tone of the conversation changed.
“He said he was much older than me, that he was 22. He had a degree in cyber security. The way he described himself was that he was untouchable and he was so powerful it didn’t matter what I did.”
Aoife immediately experienced more threats as the man demanded more pictures of her.
“I remember the bit that gave me the shock of my life was (he told me) if you don’t comply, I’ll send these photos you’ve already sent me to your Facebook family and friends.
“I just felt like, you know in the movies when someone’s alone and everything just turns black. Mum and dad were down the hall and my sisters in their bedrooms, but I felt like the only person that was in the world.”
Despite being filled with panic and dread, Aoife remembered a helpline she’d been told about in school. Her abuser was still bombarding her with threats and demands but she managed to convince him she was logging off to go to sleep as she had school in the morning.
She logged onto the CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection) website and had the presence of mind and courage to report what had happened to her.
The following day, Aoife’s teacher phoned her dad.
“He sat me down and said the school had just phoned. They said you reported an incident that happened last night, tell me about it.
“And then I just broke down. It was difficult. It’s one thing knowing this person has all this power over you and pictures of you.
“It’s another thing having to admit to your mum and dad. But after I told them they were very supportive and my dad was like, we’ll phone the police and let them deal with it.”
After an 18-month investigation by the police and National Crime Agency, Aoife’s abuser, a man from West Sussex, was tracked down.
Jordan Croft admitted 65 offences against 26 girls and women aged between 12 and 22. In 2022, he was jailed for 18 years and will spend another eight years on licence.
Aoife joined the other victims in court and they held hands as he was brought to justice.
Aoife volunteers for the NSPCC as she wants to use the awful experience she had to help others. Seeing him convicted has helped her realise what happened wasn’t her fault.
She said: “My abuser’s already in jail, he doesn’t have power over me. I can turn something disgusting and horrible into a good thing where I can help other people.”
Her advice to others is clear.
“Just tell anyone. Tell someone that you trust, someone you think will look after you. That will probably be one of the hardest conversations of your life but it’s so worth it.
NSPCC (Childline) – children and young people can call 0800 11 11. It’s a free service, available 24/7.
Adults concerned about a child can call 0808 800 5000 (available 10am-4pm), email help@NSPCC.org.uk or visit www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/reporting-abuse/nspcc-helpline/.
If you or anyone you know have been affected by the people highlighted in this article, then please report those individuals to the Police on 101 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report at Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.