Javid to announce CSE strategy after ‘surge’ in potential offenders seeking help
Fresh plans to crack down on child sexual exploitation are to be announced after a “surge” in potential paedophiles seeking help before they offend.
The Home Secretary is set to unveil the strategy when speaking at the NSPCC’s “How Safe are our Children?” conference on Tuesday.
The news comes after figures showed 140,000 accounts registered on the worst child abuse sites on the dark web are from the UK, the Home Office said.
Meanwhile, cyber-related sex crimes against children have doubled in the space of just four years, according to figures obtained by the children’s charity.
Sajid Javid will say: “The Government must build on our existing work to stop all forms of child sexual abuse and support all victims and survivors.
“So I’m pleased to announce that later this year we will publish a national strategy covering our comprehensive response to all forms of child sexual abuse.
“I have been resolute in my mission to protect our kids, but I remain determined to do even more.”
The plan – expected to launch later in the year – will look at how online and offline abuse overlap and urge the Government and police to work together, the Home Office said.
The speech follows the Government providing £600,000 in funding to a helpline run by child sexual abuse charity the Lucy Faithfull Foundation.
The Home Secretary will say there has been a 24% rise in the number of people phoning the helpline and a 40% increase in those using the charity’s website in the first three months of this year.
Mr Javid will say an independent evaluation shows a “surge in people contacting the Lucy Faithfull Foundation before committing an offence, rather than after”.
Previously this was just two in 25 callers to the helpline. But between October 2018 and March 2019 this rose to two in five, the Home Office said.
This suggests more paedophiles are being stopped before they prey on children, Mr Javid will say.
Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2019, All Rights Reserved. Picture (c) Stefan Rousseau / PA Wire.
