Dorset records 34% increase in child grooming crimes in a year
The NSPCC is calling for stronger online safety rules
Online grooming crimes against children in the South West went up by 17% last year.
New NSPCC data has also revealed that Dorset saw a 34% rise in offences during that period - with 55 cases recorded in 2022/23, compared to 41 the year before.
562 crimes were reported across the South West.
The charity's calling for the Government's Online Safety Bill to be brought forward to help protect children.
Across the country, primary school children made up a quarter of known victims.
The data comes as the wait for social media regulation continues, with MPs and Lords set to make final decision on the Online Safety Bill next month.
The NSPCC first called for social media regulation to protect children from sexual abuse in 2017 and has been campaigning for robust legislation ever since.
Sophia's story
Sophia (not her real name) was 15 she was groomed by a man posing as a boy who she was chatting to on social media.
Sophia, now aged 19, said:
“He started getting angry if I didn’t reply quick enough or when I wasn’t saying exactly what he wanted to hear. It felt strange, how he was being, so I tried breaking off the conversation with him on Yubo. He just found me on Instagram and moved to messaging me directly there.
“He had started asking for selfies of me, then asking me to take my clothes off and send photos. When he threatened me and started being angry, I was petrified. He used the images to control me. I wasn’t even allowed to use the toilet without his permission. I was afraid to tell anyone because of the photos and his threats. He threatened to share the images of me with friends and family he’d found through my social media if I stopped replying.”
A draft Online Safety Bill was published over two years ago, which would mean tech companies have a legal duty of care for young users and must assess their products for child abuse risks and put mitigations in place to protect children.
It would also give the regulator Ofcom powers to address significant abuse taking place in private messaging and require companies to put safeguards in place to identify and disrupt abuse in end-to-end encrypted environments.
Sir Peter Wanless, NSPCC Chief Executive said:
“Today’s research highlights the sheer scale of child abuse happening on social media and the human cost of fundamentally unsafe products.
“The number of offences must serve as a reminder of why the Online Safety Bill is so important and why the ground-breaking protections it will give children are desperately needed.
“We’re pleased the Government has listened and strengthened the legislation so companies must tackle how their sites contribute to child sexual abuse in a tough but proportionate way, including in private messaging.
“It’s now up to tech firms, including those highlighted by these stark figures today, to make sure their current sites and future services do not put children at unacceptable risk of abuse.”