Three-year-olds being ‘manipulated into sexual abuse online’
Children as young as three are being manipulated into “disturbing” acts of sexual abuse, according to a report by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF).
Warning: This story contains descriptions of child sexual abuse imagery
Last year was the most extreme year on record for the IWF’s abuse hotline, which saw a 22% increase in “category A” imagery.
Category A imagery involves penetrative sexual activity, images involving sexual activity with an animal, or sadism.
For the first time, the charity analysed a whole year’s worth of data on abuse of three-to-six year olds and found these young children were being targeted while online on phones and devices within the family home.
“All ‘self-generated’ child sexual abuse imagery is horrific but seeing so many very young children in these images and videos is particularly distressing,” said the report.
The amount of “self-generated” child sexual abuse images jumped by 27% in one year. This is created by the perpetrator as they direct the victim remotely and record it from webcams. It made up the vast majority of abusive images analysed by the IWF.
“The term ‘self-generated’ does not mean that the child is instigating the creation of this sexual content themselves,” said the report’s authors.
“They are being groomed, coerced and in some cases blackmailed into engaging in sexual behaviour. They are never to blame for the creation or existence of this imagery.”
Most of the imagery showed children in a home setting and most often in a child’s bedroom. In the background, analysts saw soft toys, games, books and bedding featuring cartoon characters.
“These are very young children, supposedly in the safety of their own bedrooms, very likely unaware that the activities they are being coerced into doing are being recorded and saved and ultimately shared multiple times on the internet,” said the report.
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‘Predators are targeting younger and younger victims’
The IWF is one of only a handful of non-government organisations worldwide with the legal powers to proactively search for child sexual abuse online so it can be removed from the internet and passed onto police.
The charity is now calling for children under six to be warned about online dangers.
“The opportunistic criminals who want to manipulate your children into disturbing acts of sexual abuse are not a distant threat,” said Susie Hargreaves, the IWF’s chief executive.
“They are trying to talk to them now on phones and devices you can find in any family home.
“If children under six are being targeted, we need to be having age appropriate conversations now to make sure they know how to spot the dangers.”
“This deeply disturbing report shows that predators are targeting younger and younger victims,” said Security Minister Tom Tugendhart.
“My message to parents is to speak to your children about their use of social media, because the platforms you presume safe may pose a risk.”
Last week, Ofcom published a report showing more than 40% of parents of five-to-seven year olds say they use social media with their child, while a third admitted their child uses social media independently.
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Some 30% of parents of these younger children also said they would allow their child to have a profile on social media before they reached the minimum age required.
“Offenders are gaining access to even younger children, which is simply unimaginable for us all,” said Ian Critchley, the NPCC’s child protection lead.
“But this isn’t just the responsibility of parents and carers – the biggest change though we must see is from the tech companies and online platforms.
“Companies are still failing to protect children and continue far too often to put profit before child safety.”
UK drivers are “confused” by the country’s electric car transition, ministers are being warned.
Although most drivers are not hostile towards electric vehicles (EVs), many are confused about what changes are coming and when, according to new research from the AA.
In a survey of more than 14,000 AA members, 7% thought the government was banning the sale of used petrol and diesel cars.
Around a third thought manual EVs exist, despite them all being automatic.
More than one in five said they would never buy an EV.
The government’s plan for increasing the number of electric vehicles being driven in the UK focuses heavily on increasing the supply of the vehicles.
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What you can do to reach net zero
In 2024, at least 22% of new cars and 10% of new vans sold by each manufacturer in the UK had to be zero-emission, which generally means pure electric.
Each year, those percentages will rise, reaching 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans in 2030.
Manufacturers will face fines of £15,000 per vehicle if electric vehicle sales fall short of 28% of total production this year.
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By 2035, all new cars and vans will be required to be fully zero emission, according to the Department for Transport.
Second-hand diesel and petrol cars will still be allowed to be sold after this date, and their fuel will still be available.
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In February, 25% of new cars were powered purely by battery and in January, they made up 21% of all new cars registered in the UK.
But despite the growth of electric sales, manufacturers continue to warn that the market will not support the growth required to hit government EV targets, and called for consumer incentives and the extension of tax breaks.
The AA suggested the government’s plan focuses on “supply but does little to encourage demand for EVs”.
It called on ministers to co-ordinate a public awareness campaign alongside the motoring industry which directly targets drivers who doubt the viability of EVs.
“Our message to government is more needs to be done to make EVs accessible for everyone,” said Jakob Pfaudler, AA chief executive.
Which? head of consumer rights Sue Davis said: “When it comes to making sustainable choices such as switching to an electric car, our research shows that people are often held back by high costs, complex choices or uncertainty.
“The government needs to provide the right information on electric vehicles and other sustainable choices so that people have the confidence to switch.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We’re investing over £2.3bn to help industry and consumers make a supported switch to EVs.
“This includes installing a public charge point every 28 minutes, keeping EV incentives in the company car tax regime to 2030, and extending 100% first-year allowances for zero-emission cars for another year.
“Second-hand EVs are also becoming cheaper than ever, with one in three available under £20,000 and 21 brand new models available for less than £30,000.
“We’re seeing growing consumer confidence as a result.”
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