Second child sexual abuse and exploitation analysis launched

The report sets out publicly a clear, detailed picture of reported Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (CSAE) crimes across England and Wales and has been developed by the Vulnerability Knowledge Practice Programme. It highlights that around a third of CSAE contact crimes take place within the family environment and more than half of CSAE offences (where the age was known) were committed by children (10-17 years) The statistics show offending ranging from experimental image-based abuse to serious contact offences.

Based on datasets collected from 44 police forces, this national snapshot gives refreshed, enhanced insight and analysis into the scale and nature of reported CSAE, trends in offending, including crime types, and presents profiles of both victims and perpetrators.

Understanding the scale and nature of CSAE, by which we mean the sexual abuse of children, is key to improving responses across policing, law enforcement, government, the charity sector, and partners.

It is known that there is significant under-reporting of these crimes, but policing recognises the value of presenting a known baseline of recorded abuse and harm taking place against children, to inform future understanding.

Becky Riggs, NPCC lead for Child Abuse Protection and Investigation said:

“Child sexual abuse and exploitation are horrendous crimes and this analysis helps us all to understand more about the real risks that children face as they grow up in today’s society.”

“Our work to prevent and protect children from the terrible harm of sexual abuse and exploitation never stands still and this report helps police and our partners to develop and improve our prevention, disruption, and investigation of these appalling crimes. Keeping all children safe is our shared mission.

“It’s the victims and survivors of abuse that really matter here. Behind every one of these offences is a child that has suffered harm and that’s something we never lose sight of. Many crimes are not reported or identified, with estimates that 500,000 children are sexually abused every year - a truly shocking number.

“Prioritising prevention is critical. We must stop the CSAE from happening and prevent so many children and young people from enduring the long term harm that abuse brings. At the same time we must give confidence to victims to come forward, safe in the knowledge that they will receive a compassionate and professional response. Policing must continue to relentlessly pursue offenders to justice, whilst not unnecessarily criminalising children engaged in harmful behaviours where appropriate.

“Children deserve to grow up safe in the knowledge that those responsible for protecting them from harm will work relentlessly to prevent abuse, improve outcomes for victims and bring perpetrators to justice.”

Jess Phillips, Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, said:

“This report pulls back the curtain on the truly appalling magnitude of child sexual exploitation and abuse across England and Wales. It is paramount we do more to protect children from these horrors.

“In January, the government announced a raft of new measures and an investment of £10m that will allow us to do that and drive change at a local level.

“We are introducing mandatory reporting for adults working or volunteering with children in England as part of the Crime and Policing Bill. In addition, anyone trying to cover up abuse by interfering with the duty to report can go to prison for up to seven years. The UK will also become the first country in the world to make it a criminal offence to possess, create or distribute AI models designed to generate vile online child sexual abuse material.

“We are steadfast in our determination to keep children safe and go after abusers.”

The report tells us:

• A total of 115,489 CSAE offences were recorded by police in 2023, reflecting the consistent growth in CSAE and the long-term trend of increased reporting to police. Evidence continues to suggest many crimes remains unreported, with an estimated 500,000 children experiencing CSAE every year.
• Sexual Assault on a Child was the most common crime type recorded in 29% of CSAE crimes, followed by Indecent Imagery of Children (27%) and Rape of a Child (18%).
• Contact abuse against children remains consistently high compared to that seen in crimes recorded in 2022, accounting for 68% of CSAE offences in 2023.
• CSAE remains a heavily gendered crime with males (82%, of all CSAE perpetrators) predominantly abusing females (79%, of victims).
• A relationship between victim and perpetrator was recorded for 44% of offences. Of those, 80% of victims knew their abuser.
• CSAE within the family environment remains a common context for the abuse of children, accounting for almost a third (31%) of reported CSAE crime. 93% of these crimes are contact abuse with almost half (45%) of victims under 10 years of age.
• Policing continues to receive the lowest reports of CSAE offences during school holidays, indicating an important role that the education system has in identifying and facilitating disclosure of abuse.
• Perpetrator age was recorded for 63% of offences. Where recorded, just over half of CSAE (52%) involved reports of children aged 10 to 17, offending against other children, with 14 being the most common age, similar to that reported in 2022.
• Indecent Images of Children (IIOC) offences account for 41% of offences committed by children. Analysis of a representative sample identified that 4 in 5 (80%) of these involve self-generated indecent imagery (SGII). Further analysis showed 62% of SGII involving multiple children had... had aggravating factors such as the subsequent sharing of images on social media or blackmail (commonly referred to as sextortion).
• Group-based CSAE accounts for 4.6% of all CSAE in 2023 with contact offences accounting for 3.7% and group-based non-contact offences accounting for just under 1% This is consistent with 2022. Group-based CSAE ranges from unorganised peer group sharing of imagery, to more organised complex high harm cases with high community impact.
• At least 35% of police recorded CSAE has an online element, 76% of which relates to IIOC offences The online space plays a role in facilitating contact abuse of children, though under 5% (n.3,610) of contact offences were flagged for having an online element. Of concern is the rapidly emerging threat of the sexual extortion of children. Policing and partners continue to work together to understand this threat in more detail.