Source: IWF

Date published: 22 September 2025

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has published a news story raising concerns about the creation of AI-generated child sexual abuse images through AI chatbots. The IWF has found 17 incidents of AI-generated child sexual abuse material on an AI chatbot website since June 2025. The news story includes comments from the NSPCC’s CEO as well as calls for implementation of the UK government’s promised AI safety regulation.

Read the news story: ‘Disturbing’ AI-generated child sexual abuse images found on hidden chatbot website that simulates indecent fantasies  

Source: IWF 

Date published: 01 September 2025

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has published a news story about a rise in the number of children and young people reporting sexually coerced extortion. Data from the UK Report Remove service run by Childline and the IWF, shows a 72% increase in reports of sexually coerced extortion from 01 January to 30 June 2025. In 97% of cases confirmed by the IWF, children experiencing sexually coerced extortion were boys. Sexually coerced extortion can be financially motivated, with criminals trying to blackmail children and young people into sending money.

Read the news story: Child sexual extortion cases in the UK soar with warnings ‘ruthless’ criminals are still putting children and young people at risk

In a new report, “Sex is kind of broken now”: Children and Pornography, published in August 2025, the Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, sets out how children and young people are increasingly exposed to online sexual content. The report shows that pornography is no longer mainly sought out but often encountered accidentally, sometimes before secondary school, with social media now a major source.

Surveying over 1,000 young people aged 16–21, the report found 70 per cent had seen pornography before turning 18, with more than a quarter first exposed by age 11. Many described seeing violent or coercive material, raising serious concerns about the impact on their understanding of sex, consent, and relationships.

You can read the full report here: https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/resource/sex-is-kind-of-broken-now-children-and-pornography/ 

Source: Guardian

Date published: 25 August 2025

The Guardian has published a news story raising concerns about use of the Tor network to share child sexual abuse material on the dark web. The Tor (“the onion router”) network is a tool for protecting online anonymity and routes traffic through a global web of volunteer-run servers to obscure users’ identities and locations. The news story argues that the platform’s design makes it difficult to remove illegal or harmful content.

Read the news story: Privacy at a cost: the dark web’s main browser helps pedophile networks flourish, experts say 

See also on NSPCC Learning
> Protecting children from sexual abuse

Source: NSPCC Learning

Date published: 28 August 2025

NSPCC Learning has published a Why language matters blog exploring the problems with the term 'sextortion.' The blog explores how using the term can minimise children’s experiences and overlook the complexity and multifaceted nature of the issue. It highlights how professionals should use the term 'sexually coerced extortion' when reporting and recording this type of abuse, while staying aware of and reflecting the language children and young people use.

Read the blog: Why language matters: why we should rethink our use of the term ‘sextortion’ 

Source: Children’s Commissioner for England

Date published: 18 August 2025

The Children’s Commissioner for England has published a new report on children’s exposure to online pornography and the harms caused by this. The report discusses what children are seeing and where, before the Online Safety Act’s protections came into force in the summer of 2025. The research utilises a survey of 16- to 21-year-olds and a focus group with 16- to 17-year-old girls. Findings show: 70% of survey respondents had seen pornography online; the average age a child first sees pornography online is 13; X (formerly Twitter) remains the most common source; and 59% reported seeing pornography online by accident. The Commissioner calls for improvements in how online pornography is audited and for the government to explore options to ensure children can’t use VPNs to avoid the age assurance process.

Read the report: “Sex is kind of broken now”: children and pornography  

Source: Guardian 

Date published: 09 August 2025

The Guardian has published a news story on the rise in online child sexual extortion, or ‘sextortion’. Key findings include: tech companies including Snapchat and Facebook reported 9,600 cases of sextortion in the UK in the first six months of 2024; and Snapchat reported more suspicious material than any other platform.

Read the blog post: FBI and NSPCC alarmed at ‘shocking’ rise in online sextortion of children

Source: NSPCC Learning 

Date published: 05 August 2025

NSPCC Learning has published a podcast episode discussing how to protect boys and young males from targeted online blackmail and extortion, featuring experts from Childline and CEOP Education, part of the National Crime Agency (NCA). The episode covers: what online financial sexual extortion is; how to spot the signs of online blackmail and extortion; how to support boys who are experiencing online sexual extortion; and how to report real and AI generated images.

Listen to the podcast: Podcast: Protecting boys from financially motivated sexual extortion
Listen on YouTube: Protecting boys from financially motivated sexual extortion

Source: BBC

Date published: 18 June 2025

The BBC has published an article on the issue of AI-generated child sexual abuse imagery and how this is impacting on the work of police and other agencies in safeguarding children and young people. Experts from the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) discuss the growing difficulties in establishing what is and isn’t AI-generated imagery and how this affects work to identify and support real children at risk.

Read the article: AI puts real child sex victims at risk, experts say 

Source: Children’s Commissioner for England

Date published: 16 June 2025

The Children’s Commissioner for England has been interviewed by the Naked Truth Project on concerns about children accessing pornography. The discussion explores the mental health impacts of pornography and social media exposure, and the role of tech companies, schools and parents. The Commissioner calls for: high-quality, age-appropriate Relationship, Sex and Health Education (RSHE); parents to talk to their children about what they are seeing online; and tech companies to design safer platforms.

Watch the interview: “We need you to protect us” – some hard truths about children’s access to pornography  

Source: Home Office

Date published: 16 June 2025

The Home Office has published an independent audit on group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) in England and Wales. The review, led by Baroness Casey, looks at the scale, nature and characteristics of group-based CSEA, drivers of this type of offending, and the local and national response. Reviewers assessed a range of national and local data and reports, as well as meeting with survivors, police, local authorities and other organisations and individuals. The report sets out 12 recommendations including changes to the law around rape and the launch of a national police operation and national inquiry into child sexual exploitation in England and Wales. A government response has been published accepting all 12 recommendations.

NSPCC Learning has published a CASPAR briefing summarising the key findings and recommendations in the report.

Read the report: National audit on group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse 
Read the government’s response: Government response to the national audit on group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse report 
Read the NSPCC Learning CASPAR briefing: Summary of the National audit on group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse

Source: CSA Centre

Date published: 30 May 2025 

The Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse (CSA Centre) has published a study on the provision of support services in England and Wales for children who have experienced sexual abuse; families of children who have been sexually abused; and adults sexually abused in childhood. As well as a mapping exercise, 124 sexual abuse support services completed an online questionnaire which asked about changes to service provision and experiences of providing support. The report highlights a shortage of provision across England and Wales, including significant geographical variation with the North West, West Midlands and South East having particularly low levels of service provision. More than two-thirds of survey respondents said their services had waiting lists.  The report discusses implications for policymakers, funders and commissioners.

Read the report: Support Matters: a comprehensive study of the landscape of service provision in response to child sexual abuse in England & Wales

Source: NSPCC Learning

Date published: 15 May 2025

NSPCC Learning has published a Why language matters blog exploring how we talk about sibling sexual behaviour and abuse. The blog highlights that a range of different terms are used to describe sibling sexual behaviour, and these terms can be misused or misinterpreted. This can lead to professionals responding disproportionately to cases of sexual behaviour between siblings. The blog outlines why it’s important to accurately describe the behaviour, the context and the sibling dynamic when discussing sibling sexual behaviour and abuse.

Read the blog: Why language matters: how we talk about sibling sexual behaviour and abuse

Source: NSPCC Learning

Date published: 14 May 2025

NSPCC Learning has published new research examining the design features of online platforms that can facilitate or promote abusive communications with young female users. The research explored the design of ten video-sharing, social media, gaming and messaging platforms, using fake accounts for a fictitious 14-year-old girl; interviews with experts; and user journey mapping. Findings show: online service design can be exploited to identify, target and abuse girls; risky design features are built into the entire user journey; and platforms place the onus on girls to protect themselves online. The report proposes solutions and urges the Government and technology companies to put measures in place to mitigate unsafe design features and protect girls on digital platforms.

Read the news story: Social media sites failing to protect girls from harm at every stage 
Read the report: Targeting girls online 

Source: IWF

Date published: 23 April 2025

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has published its annual report setting out data and insights from its work to end child sexual abuse imagery online. The report explores the intelligence gathered by the IWF in 2024 through its assessment of child sexual abuse images and videos on the internet. Of the 424,047 reports that were assessed by the IWF, 291,273 reports were confirmed to either contain criminal imagery of child sexual abuse, link to this criminal imagery or were found advertising it (a 6% increase from 2023). Findings also show increases in sexual abuse imagery of teenagers under 18 and highlight concerns around the online sexual abuse and exploitation they face.

Read the news story: UK teen’s sex abuse imagery identified thanks to IWF analysts’ pioneering work with policing database 
Read the report: IWF annual data & insights report 2024  

Source: Ofcom

Date published: 24 April 2025

Ofcom has published the final version of its Protection of Children Codes and Guidance which will apply to providers of online services and platforms likely to be used by UK children. The child safety measures, designed to help protect children and young people from harmful content online, will require relevant providers of online services to complete and record children’s risk assessments by 24 July 2025. From 25 July 2025, they should apply the safety measures set out in Ofcom’s Codes to mitigate these risks. The safety measures include: safer feeds, with algorithms configured to filter out harmful content from children; effective age checks; and all sites and apps must have processes in place to review, assess and quickly tackle harmful content when they become aware of it. If companies fail to comply with their duties under the Online Safety Act, Ofcom has the power to impose fines and in serious cases, can apply for a court order to prevent the site or app from being available in the UK. There are five volumes setting out Ofcom’s decisions, together with a number of regulatory documents and guidance.

Read the news story: New rules for a safer generation of children online 
Access the publications: Statement: protecting children from harms online 

Source: CSA Centre

Date published: 10 April 2025

The Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse (CSA Centre) has updated its guidance on communicating with children who have or may have been sexually abused. The guide has been designed to help professionals to listen, understand and provide support to children and young people when there are concerns about sexual abuse.

Access the guide: Communicating with children : a guide for those working with children who have or may have been sexually abused

Source: NSPCC Learning

Date published: 22 April 2025

NSPCC Learning has published a Why language matters blog exploring how professionals can struggle with understanding, talking about and responding to child sexual abuse. The blog is in response to the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel’s National review into child sexual abuse in the family environment. The blog discusses why it can be difficult for children to share their concerns and how professionals can approach conversations about concerns of child sexual abuse with children and with other professionals.

Read the blog: Why language matters: why professionals need to talk about child sexual abuse
Read the briefing: Summary of the National review into child sexual abuse within the family environment – “I wanted them all to notice”

Source: Childlight

Date published: 09 April 2025

Childlight has published a new report in its Searchlight series examining child sexual exploitation and abuse. The report looks at eight Childlight studies, exploring three key areas: profitability and who benefits from child sexual exploitation and abuse; hidden at-risk populations; and accountability, including an analysis of legal challenges in tackling AI-generated child sexual abuse material across the UK. Findings highlight the links between child sexual exploitation and organised crime groups, but also how mainstream technology providers can benefit, with advertising revenue increasing when platforms attract high volumes of traffic, including traffic generated by online child sexual abuse and exploitation. The report calls for global leaders to come together to provide a comprehensive public health response to tackle child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Read the report: Searchlight 2025: Who benefits? Shining a light on the business of child sexual exploitation and abuse (PDF)
Read the overview and individual studies: Searchlight 2025   

Source: Home Office

Date published: 08 April 2025

The Home Office has published a progress update on the Government’s work to tackle child sexual abuse in the UK. In a speech made by Jess Phillips, the Safeguarding Minister, the Government has also outlined steps being taken to act on the recommendations from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). In addition to measures already announced by the Government, plans include: the creation of a new Child Protection Authority for England; a joint thematic review of child abuse in family settings; and the development of specialist child sexual abuse and exploitation training for social workers and other key members of the children’s services workforce.

Read the report: Tackling child sexual abuse: progress update 
Read the transcript of the speech: Tackling child sexual abuse and exploitation: update 

Source: CSA Centre

Date published: 24 March 2025

The Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse (CSA Centre) has published a report on child sexual abuse in the UK. The report summarises key research and statistics about child sexual abuse. Findings include: child sexual abuse is more common than most people think; more children are sexually abused than are ever identified or responded to; children are most often sexually abused by someone they know and trust; any child can be sexually abused, but some children are more vulnerable to this abuse than others; and the experience and impacts of sexual abuse are different for every child. The report signposts to resources to support parents and professionals working with children.

Download the report: What you need to know about child sexual abuse 

Source: NSPCC Learning

Date published: 14 March 2025

NSPCC Learning has published a Helplines insight briefing on young people engaging in harmful and problematic sexual behaviour (HSB/PSB). Drawing from contacts to Childline and the NSPCC Helpline in 2023/24, the briefing shares young people’s perspectives across the various stages of engaging in HSB/PSB, including: asking sex and relationship questions around age-appropriate behaviours, consent, and legality; seeking advice on how to stop fantasies, thoughts and urges; narrating experiences of seeking help, including barriers to getting appropriate support; feeling guilt, regret and shame about past behaviours; and worries about legal repercussions and consequences.

Read the briefing: Insights on young people engaging in harmful and problematic sexual behaviour  

The Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse has released their report on trends from 2023/2024. Their reports are annual and focus on the collation of data from the previous year. Their latest report has identified a decline in child sexual abuse reported to children’s services in that period. Their analysis shows that despite this news, the number of people charged and convicted following child sexual offences increased. In addition, the number of children coming under a protection plan fell to its lowest level in thirty years in England. As of December 2024 only 3.5% of new protection plans are related to child sexual abuse. Child sexual abuse is also being detected less, with the number of assessments reaching a record low. Based on their report, the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse estimates 500,000 children will experience sexual abuse every year. The report makes for compelling reading, to find out more please follow the link below:

https://www.csacentre.org.uk/research-resources/research-evidence/scale-nature-of-abuse/trends-in-official-data/

Source: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Date published: 27 February 2025

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has published an independent review by Baroness Bertin looking at the legislation and regulation of online pornography. It makes recommendations for government, regulatory bodies, and the sector to ensure that the harmful impacts of pornography are addressed. The report includes an examination of the harms of online pornography and child sex abuse material (CSAM) on pornography websites. It considers how pornography sites can be used as disguised gateways for accessing or inadvertently directing individuals to CSAM and outlines evidence around potential links between viewing illegal pornography and CSAM. Recommendations centre around: tackling violence against women and girls; protecting those most vulnerable to exploitation and harms; and future-proofing against tech-enabled harms.

Read the report: Creating a safer world: the challenge of regulating online pornography 

Source: BBC

Date published: 02 March 2025

BBC Radio 4 has released a new podcast episode sharing the voices of three people from IICSA Changemakers who have experienced child sexual abuse. The IICSA Changemakers are a group co-ordinated by the NSPCC who aim to amplify the voices of people with lived experience of child sexual abuse and ensure that the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) remains an important moment for child protection. This podcast episode challenges misconceptions that abuse only happens in certain communities and highlights the impact of institutional silence.

Listen to the Radio 4 podcast episode: The endemic truth

Shore, launched in 2023 by The Lucy Faithfull Foundation, is an anonymous support platform designed to assist teenagers concerned about sexual thoughts or behaviours. It offers guidance on managing these concerns and promotes safe living both online and offline.

The website provides resources on topics such as healthy sexual relationships, understanding and changing harmful behaviours, and supporting others facing similar issues.

Shore features real-life stories to help users navigate their challenges. For those seeking direct assistance, confidential expert advice is available via email. By addressing these sensitive matters, Shore aims to prevent harmful sexual behaviours among young people.

https://shorespace.org.uk/ 

Source: Lucy Faithfull Foundation

Date published: 19 February 2025

The Lucy Faithfull Foundation has updated its family safety plan designed to support parents, carers and professionals to put safety measures in place to help protect children from sexual abuse. The plan sets out practical steps for preventing child sexual abuse and helps families to: recognise signs of inappropriate or concerning behaviour; and ensure good communication within the family around topics such as safety, boundaries and consent.

Read the news story: Our new family safety plan: empowering families to prevent child sexual abuse  

Source: Home Office and Ministry of Justice

Date published: 25 February 2025

The Crime and Policing Bill has been laid before Parliament. It includes provisions to introduce: new offences of child criminal exploitation and cuckooing (where a vulnerable person’s home is used by others to commit criminal activity). It aims to update the legislation around child sexual abuse material by introducing: new offences around using or promoting the use of AI to generate child sexual abuse material and moderating or administering websites that host child sexual abuse material; and a new power for Border Force officers, where reasonably suspected, to search the digital devices of individuals arriving in the UK for child sexual abuse material. It introduces a new statutory aggravating factor of grooming applicable in sentences around child sexual abuse offences, and updates the legislation around child abduction by a person connected with the child, where the child is taken out of the UK.

The Bill introduces a new statutory duty for individuals undertaking key roles with responsibility for children and young people in England to report sexual abuse when they are made aware of it, alongside a new criminal offence of attempting to prevent someone reporting child sexual abuse. The Bill provides for a limited number of exceptions to the duty to report, which include those providing specified services (to be set out in regulations) that relate to the safety or wellbeing of children and where confidentiality is in the best interests of children. The Bill also proposes that adults working in regulated activity under supervision will be eligible for enhanced DBS checks.

Different parts of the Bill apply to different parts of the UK.

Find out more: Crime and Policing Bill 2025 
View the Bill: Crime and Policing Bill 

Source: NSPCC

Date published: 14 February 2025

The NSPCC has published a news story about boys’ vulnerability to sexual extortion, or ‘sextortion’. Sexual extortion is a form of online blackmail that involves the threat of sharing nude or semi-nude images or videos to extort money or force someone to do something against their will. Data from Childline counselling sessions between April and December 2024 reveals that boys were more than twice as likely as girls to seek help and advice from the service for worries about sexual extortion. In response, Childline has launched a campaign aimed at encouraging boys to contact the service for support if they are affected. The news story includes tips from Childline to help young people stay safe online.   

Read the press release: Childline data reveals boys are most vulnerable to ‘sextortion’
Watch the campaign video: Can The Charvas work out who is REAL and who is FAKE?

Source: NSPCC 

Date published: 18 February 2025

The NSPCC has collaborated with the Marie Collins Foundation, Lucy Faithfull Foundation, Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse and Barnardo’s to send a joint letter to the Home Sectary and Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, calling for the Government to ensure children are better protected from child sexual abuse in private messaging environments. Data gathered by the NSPCC from police forces across the UK on child sexual abuse image offences, indicates private messaging sites were involved in more crimes of this nature than any other type of platform. The letter expresses collective concern regarding Ofcom's Illegal Harms Code of Practice, published in December 2024. It argues that only requiring illegal content to be removed where it is ‘technically feasible’ creates a loophole for service providers. The charities are calling for all private messaging services, including those using end-to-end encryption, to ensure robust safeguards are in place to protect children and for Ofcom to review and strengthen its codes of practice. 

Read the press release: More than 100 child sexual abuse image crimes being recorded by police every day 

Childline’s new ‘Behind the Screen’ campaign, seeks to raise awareness of the sexually coerced extortion of boys and young men. In particular it seeks to address the extortion of nudes from this group via blackmail, in relation to nudes exchanged and then saved by the extorter. All young people should be able to feel safe to seek support for whatever afflicts them. Childline seeks to provide that service, and to act as a conduit for advice and support. The campaign has specifically been designed for boys and young men, to let them know its ok to reach out and that a place for their concerns exists at Childline. In line with this aim, they have produced a supporting guide to accompany their ‘Behind the Screen’ campaign. If interested please follow the link below:

https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/media/sfzndfgn/childline-behind-the-screen-pdf-guide.pdf