Calls for help to child sexual abuse charity doubled in East of England
There's been a 50% rise in people in East of England seeking support over concerns about online sexual behaviour towards children in last year
Last updated 7th Mar 2025
The Lucy Faithful Foundation has said it was contacted by 9,453 people from the East of England in 2024 who were concerned about their own or someone else’s online sexual behaviour towards children – a rise of 50% from the previous year.
Their head of psychology, Dr Alexandra Bailey, told Greatest Hits Radio this is largely down to "pornography becoming more and more extreme."
40% of people are using pornography but 1 in 5 viewers say the content is getting more extreme.
Dr Bailey says "we work with a lot of people who have accessed child sexual abuse material and one of the pathways in which they got there was through legal adult pornography."
"For many, viewers are watching legal adult pornography more and more, that becomes quite problematic, and often people becoming quite desensitised to that.
"That leads to them looking for pornography that's more extreme to get the same level of gratification, and that leads to some people getting access to child sexual abuse material."
More than 275,000 Brits sought support from the charity’s Stop It Now services in 2024, concerned about their own or someone else’s online sexual behaviour towards children.
According to the findings, one in five (19%) who watch pornography view it at least once a week.
Of those individuals, more than a quarter (27%) say that their consumption has become more frequent.
The figures come from a poll of more than 2,500 UK adults commissioned by the child protection charity, Lucy Faithfull Foundation.
Sexual offending can come in "different formats":
It could be child sexual abuse material - images and videos of children that have been sexualised, including AI-generated material.
Online offending could also be having sexual conversations with children online
"Our other concern is for the young people who often don't recognise that they're producing child sexual abuse material, for example through 'sexting'".
"Then that's out there for everybody to have access to."
"The way that technology has changed has not only changed pornography itself, but also its access, and how early they can access it.
The Lucy Faithful Foundation provides a Stop It Now service for children who may be concerned, and adults who are concerned about their own behaviour or others' behaviour.
You can contact the Stop It Now helpline on 0808 1000 900, or online at https://www.stopitnow.org.uk/.