IWF says IICSA report highlights ‘incalculable’ damage from online child sexual abuse

It warns that re-victimisation caused by the repeated sharing of images and videos is causing “incalculable” harm to victims.

Susie Hargreaves OBE, chief executive of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), which gave evidence to the  IICSA inquiry, said: “It’s stark to see how even since giving evidence to this inquiry in 2019 the scale of online child sexual abuse has continued to rise, and abusers are finding new ways to distribute this material.

“It’s never acceptable for any of us in the offline or online world to be passive when it comes to protecting children.”

The inquiry’s final report says the internet is “magnifying” child sexual abuse and grooming.

Professor Alexis Jay OBE, who chaired the Inquiry, said: “The IWF has estimated that in a single month during the first 2020 lockdown, there were over eight and a half million attempts by UK internet users to access child sexual abuse imagery.”

The report warns that live-streaming of child sexual abuse, and the fear of re-victimisation through the repeated sharing of images and videos online is causing “incalculable” damage.

The report said: “Online facilitated child sexual abuse magnifies the risk to children both nationally and internationally. Escalating production and sharing of child sexual abuse material and the live streaming of sexual abuse affects children of all ages but particularly those aged under 13 years.

The report adds: “Those affected live in fear that images of them being sexually abused remain available on the internet indefinitely. The harm done to children and their families is incalculable.”

The inquiry cites the IWF’s findings – warning that younger and younger children are now being drawn into a cycle of online abuse.

The report said: “The IWF reported that self-generated sexual imagery of children aged from seven to ten years old has increased three-fold, making it the fastest growing age group. In 2020, there were 8,000 instances; in 2021 there were 27,000 – a 235 percent increase.

“Children have expressed concern about repeat victimisation because self-generated sexual images remain available on the internet.”

Ms Hargreaves added: “Children cannot and must not be made to wait while we find a solution. Victims need our protection now. Children suffering with the knowledge images and videos of their sexual abuse may still be being circulated is a horror which must not continue.

“Now, MPs must rise above the chaos and uncertainty at the heart of government and focus on delivering a strong and unequivocal Online Safety Bill. A clear timetable for when this is achieved must now be brought forward. We cannot see children who have already been let down being failed again.

“The IWF is ready and eager to help further. We have unparalleled knowledge and experience. Our working relationships with the National Crime Agency (NCA) in the UK, law enforcement globally, and the tech industry, as well as with the UK Government puts us right at the heart of the response.”

NCA Director General Rob Jones said it was “staggering to see the huge volume of illegal material that is still being hosted on the web”.

He said the NCA estimates that there are likely to be 550,000 to 850,000 people in the UK who pose varying degrees of sexual risk to children.

“We are also seeing an increase in the severity of offending and added complexities in tackling it,” said Mr Jones.

“Technology and the internet continues to be used by those who have a sexual interest in children to perpetrate child sexual abuse. In 2019, I gave extensive evidence to the inquiry’s internet investigation, highlighting the need for industry to do more to prevent abuse taking place on its platforms.

“The inquiry subsequently made four recommendations for government to introduce measures placing a duty of care on the tech industry, which have since been implemented.

“We continue to work with all of the major companies to seek solutions, but years on, we are yet to see the big shift that we need to degrade the threat. It is staggering to see the huge volume of illegal material that is still being hosted on the open web.

“Platforms continue to push forward with plans to implement privacy enhancing measures such as end-to-end encryption, which do not yet have safety features designed into them. This is despite expert evidence that shows  this is possible and that privacy and child safety can co-exist.

“Child sexual abuse remains a high-priority threat for the NCA, and alongside policing we will keep doing everything we can to tackle it.

“But this is not solely a law enforcement issue. We need to see a greater commitment from industry and action across society to create smart, technological solutions that will help reduce the threat.”

These concerns are echoed by the Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza.

She warned: “The digital age has offered new, and previously inconceivable, ways for children to be harmed – both by adults and by other young people.

“After my commission from government to look at this space, I have researched and spoken extensively about the risks presented to children by unregulated online environments.

“There are practical ways which online platforms can protect child users, which are highlighted by the inquiry, including through use of effective age assurance, and state-of-the-art child sexual abuse material (CSAM) scanning technology.

“However, I am unconvinced that real action will be taken by tech firms without robust external oversight and regulation. This is why it is so crucial that the Online Safety Bill is passed, with children’s voices and experiences at its heart.”

The IICSA report described the sexual abuse of children as an “epidemic that leaves tens of thousands of victims in its poisonous wake” (see https://www.policeprofessional.com/news/inquirys-concluding-report-highlights-devastating-scale-of-child-sexual-abuse/).

It wants to see a new law making it mandatory for people in positions of trust to report child sexual abuse together with the introduction of a national compensation scheme for victims.

The IWF welcomed the recommendations for mandatory reporting of suspected child sexual abuse, and mandatory online pre-screening by technology platforms for sexual images of children.

The Inquiry also calls for more robust age verification requirements for the use of online platforms and services including social media platforms by children, a measure the IWF has long supported.

The proposed creation of a Minister for Children, and the suggestion of a public awareness campaign on child sexual abuse, was also welcomed by the IWF.

Ms Hargreaves said: “The IWF also applauds the renewed focus on victims, with recommendations that victims of child sexual abuse online should be included in criminal injuries compensation scheme, and the proposed creation of Child Protection Authorities (CPAs) to oversee efforts to keep children safe, something the IWF would be pleased to support.”

The recommendations will be enforced by “Cabinet level ministerial positions for children to provide senior leadership and increased priority within government”, said Ms Hargreaves.

The report also highlights the importance of Report Remove, an online tool launched in 2021 by the IWF and Childline which allows children and young people to report sexual images and videos of themselves.

The report notes: “Given the growth in self-generated imagery, Report Remove is likely to become an increasingly useful tool to help prevent children being harmed by the knowledge that an image of them is available online to be viewed and shared with others.”

IICSA also called the requirement for companies to find a technical solution to keeping children safe online before introducing end to end encryption “long overdue” saying there is “a stark debate” between protection of privacy and protection of children.

The report said: “A technical solution is now overdue to assist the detection of online-facilitated child sexual abuse, and to make the internet safe for all children.”

In March 2020, IICSA published its report into the growing problem of “online-facilitated child sexual abuse”– the internet part of the inquiry.

The 2020 report noted how the IWF’s work to remove “significant amounts” of child sexual abuse material from the internet is a “genuine success story”, but warned that internet companies and the Government need to do more to make sure children are kept safe.

And in a report in March 2020, the inquiry said: “The IWF sits at the heart of the national response to combating the proliferation of indecent images of children.

“It is an organisation that deserves to be publicly acknowledged as being a vital part of how, and why, comparatively little child sexual abuse material is hosted in the UK.”