ONLINE child sexual abuse could be “the next grooming crisis”, experts warn ministers.
Children are being groomed and coerced online in “astonishing numbers”, according to the Internet Watch Foundation.
The charity runs the biggest hotline in Europe dedicated to finding and removing vile child sexual abuse material from the internet.
Derek Ray-Hill, Interim CEO, said: “We must not look back in years to come and say we did not know.
“The evidence is there. Children are being groomed and coerced online in astonishing numbers.
Offenders who are often located far away orchestrate the sexual abuse captured in images and videos, which are then circulated among online communities like collectible cards.
“This will be the next grooming crisis unless we all act now, as a society, to protect children from the dangers.”
It comes after a damning review laid bare the failings of the British state to stop the abuse of white girls by gangs of men of Pakistani origin.
The audit by Baroness Louise Casey quotes one police expert saying, “If Rotherham were to happen again today it would start online.”
Mr Ray-Hill added: “I worry that, even as we unpack this devastating scandal and its repercussions, another crisis is brewing.”
Earlier this month Sir Keir Starmer performed a U-turn and ordered a national inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal.
Jess Phillips, the Safeguarding Minister, revealed to the Sun on Sunday the disturbing findings uncovered by Baroness Casey’s swift investigation, highlighting the severe mistreatment inflicted by grooming gangs on young girls and women.
All the suggestions outlined in the report, particularly concerning the escalating trend of offenders using online platforms to target children, will be fully implemented without delay, as stated by Phillips.
“We are alive to the latest online threats like the rise of ‘self-generated’ child sexual abuse imagery, which is highly disturbing, and we fully support the robust implementation of the Online Safety Act.
“We are also strengthening law enforcement’s response, using cutting-edge technology, intelligence and investigators to bring perpetrators of these horrific crimes to justice.”
The Government also recently introduced four new laws to crack down on online child sexual abuse.
