ON AVERAGE, there were four daily online sex crimes against children between January and March in the Thames Valley this year.
This is according to a report from Thames Valley Police which has highlighted the scale of child sexual abuse on the web.
Across England and Wales there were 101 daily incidents – according to the Office of National Statistics, there were 9,153 offences in total between January and March.
It is expected that these numbers increased during national lockdown.
Now, the NSPCC is calling on the Government to improve social media regulation, fearing that the coronavirus led to significant online harm to children.
According to the charity, the pandemic may cause long-term changes to the online child abuse threat, with live streaming and video chats becoming more popular.
Changes to working patterns, with more offenders working from home, could also result in greater demand for sexual abuse images and increased opportunities for grooming, the charity says.
NSPCC CEO Peter Wanless, aid: “Industry inaction is fuelling this staggering number of sex crimes against children and the fallout from coronavirus has heightened the risks of abuse now and in the future.”
The charity is encouraging the Government to enforce stricter regulations in the Online Harms Bill, due to be delivered in the new year.
Hannah Ruschen, NSPCC policy and public affairs officer, added: “We know that children are exposed to all sorts of harm online, and this is because tech giants have failed consistently to prioritise children’s safety.
“We want tech firms to be held criminally and financially accountable if they put children at risk.”
