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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Harriet Grant

Viewers of online abuse at high risk of contacting children directly, study finds

A man's hands on keyboard
The pandemic has seen an increase in arrests in the UK, mostly of men, for watching online sexual abuse. Photograph: Sandy Gasperoni/Alamy

The largest ever survey on the thoughts and behaviours of people who watch child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online has found significant evidence that those who watch illegal material are at high risk of going on to contact or abuse a child directly.

Nearly half (42%) of respondents to the survey, the first of its kind, said they had sought direct contact with children through online platforms after viewing CSAM, and 58% reported feeling afraid that viewing CSAM might lead to them committing abuse in person.

The report, published in the Stanford Internet Observatory’s Journal of Online Trust and Safety, is the result of months of groundbreaking research by Finnish human rights group Protect Children.

Researchers placed surveys on the darknet, tagged with code words used by people searching for child sexual abuse material. About 15,000 people responded and researchers carried out detailed studies on 1,500 who replied in full to the survey.

Tegan Insoll, specialist researcher at Protect Children, told the Guardian: “This is really significant. We now have a peer-reviewed study to prove that watching [CSAM] can increase the risk of contact.”

The study comes as rising numbers of men are being arrested in the UK and elsewhere for watching child abuse online. “Many offenders claim that watching does not extend to harming children [directly] but we show it can increase the risk of contact and there are other factors linked to dangerous behaviour,” Insoll added. “The darker the material – for example the younger the victims – the more likely a viewer is to go on to contact a child. The same can be seen with frequency of watching this material and the age at which they were first exposed to it.”

The research has already shown that a large percentage of respondents first saw child abuse material online before they were 18.

“This is a massive human rights issue. Children have a right to wellbeing and health – protected from sexual violence. We are working with people around the world to use our work to show the vital importance of removing child sexual abuse material from the internet.”

The UK’s only helpline for people who want to stop looking at illegal child abuse material online has reported a “monumental’’ increase in people calling.

The Stop it Now! helpline supports people who are worried about their own or someone else’s sexual thoughts or behaviours towards children. New data published on Tuesday reports that 165,000 people have contacted them online or by phone during 2021, double that of the previous year.

Experts at the charity say that increased isolation and job losses during the pandemic over the past two years have contributed to the rise, as have escalating porn habits. More than 2,000 people visited the Stop it Now! “get help” website after receiving a warning about their behaviour on porn sites while searching for material featuring under-18s.

Donald Findlater, director of the Stop It Now! helpline said: “Many of those who contact us started out on mainstream porn sites and feel they need more extreme content. A few are struggling with a longstanding sexual interest in children and think that looking at ‘only pictures’ is a way of managing that interest. Everyone needs to know [this] is illegal and children are harmed by it.”

• In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International

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