The growing use of webcams and apps has left youngsters vulnerable to predators, charity NSPCC says. It’s Childline service had nearly 4,000 calls from online sex abuse victims between April 2015 and March – up to 24% on the previous 12 months.
‘Most of us talk to people online and its a great way to stay connected and make new friends,’ said NSPCC boss Peter Wanless. ‘But it can be a playground for paedophiles, exposing young people to groomers who trawl social networks and online game forums exploiting any vulnerabilities they may find.’
One in eight of the Childline calls about online sex abuse specifically concerned grooming – an increase of 21%, the NSPCC said. The problem may be worse as children are often unwilling to report abuse, or fail to recognise that they are being exploited.
Childline founder Esther Rantzen said: ‘ Very often young people tell us of their feelings of shame because they don’t recognise they are not to blame. ‘One young person who had been persuaded to send explicit pictures of herself told us "I walked myself into this mess, I couldn’t as for help".’
Marilyn Hawes, head of charity Enough Abuse UK, said the calls to Childline were probably just the ‘tip of the iceberg’. She said educating web companies, parents and teachers about the risks children were facing could help tackle the problem. ‘It is shocking and heart-breaking how little awareness there is,’ Ms Hawes said. ‘Parents see phones and tablets as toys and baby-sitting devices for their children but they don’t understand how dangerous they can be.’
Childline is a free 24-hour counselling service for children and young people up to age 19.