ISPCC 'shocked' at findings of major international study on child sexual abuse 

Fiona Jennings, ISPCC Senior Policy and Public Affairs Manager, said children contacting Childline in the last while have spoken about abuse concerns, both online and offline. File image

A leading children’s charity has expressed shock at research which found that seven out of 10 people who watch child sexual abuse online started doing so when they were children themselves.

An international study conducted on the hidden 'dark web' found many people were under 13 when first exposed to it. Some 5,000 people responded to the online survey.

The Protect Children survey found that one-third of respondents had actually attempted to directly contact a child as a result of viewing the illegal images.

It found that 70% said they first saw child sexual abuse material when they were under 18 and 40% of those said they were under 13. More than 50% said they were not seeking these images out when they were first exposed to illegal material.

Some 45% of respondents said they viewed images of girls aged four to 13, while 18% said they looked at boys.

Responding, the ISPCC said it was shocked at the findings.

“It is particularly concerning that 70% of respondents stated they were just children themselves when they first saw this content, many reporting to be under 13,” Fiona Jennings, ISPCC Senior Policy and Public Affairs Manager said.

Hear @ISPCCChildline Senior Policy and Public Affairs Manager @FMJennings speaking with @AntonSavageShow on @NewstalkFM in the next few minutes about a report published this week on online child sexual abuse and our concerns in this area. Listen live: https://t.co/dqsBZ4M8UZ

— ISPCC (@ISPCCChildline) September 28, 2021

She said children contacting Childline in the last while have spoken about abuse concerns, both online and offline.

“Online abuse concerns ranged from child sexual abuse to online sexual exploitation, while contact with a person who poses a sexual abuse risk and sexting featured too,” Ms Jennings said. 

“These engagements tended to last the longest and were categorised the most serious.” 

She said the ongoing level of engagement by respondents to the Finnish survey gave the impression that some might want to talk to someone about why they watch it, whilst some reported trying to stop watching it but failing.

She said:

There is an absolute need to better understand perpetrator behaviour and why people seek out and watch online child sexual abuse.

Ms Jennings said watching online child sexual abuse was not a victimless crime: “Children are being subjected to horrendous sexual abuse; they live with knowing images of their abuse are online; and they endure on-going re-traumatisation when these images surface.” 

* Contact ISPCC: 1800 66 66 66, text 50101 or chat online at Childline.ie