Source: Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) published on this website Wednesday 12 march 2025 by Jill Powell

Child protection analysts have seen a significant rise in reports from children accessing the world-leading Report Remove service run by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and the NSPCC’s Childline service.

Hailed by one parent as a ‘game-changer’, the tool allows anyone under 18 in the UK to anonymously report sexual images and videos of themselves on the internet.

The surge in use also comes at a time when the ‘ruthless’ sexual extortion of children shows no sign of abating.

The new data from IWF show that 1,142 reports were submitted to Report Remove and assessed by analysts in 2024, a 44% increase on the year before.

Of these, the IWF – the UK’s hotline dedicated to finding and removing child sexual abuse imagery online – actioned 642 reports (56%) that contained criminal child sexual abuse content. This is also a rise when compared with 508 reports from 2023 (26%).

Reports ‘actioned’ by the IWF are confirmed as containing images and/or videos of child sexual abuse according to UK law. Children can report both webpages that contain their sexual image or the individual images and videos themselves via the Report Remove service. IWF analysts can then take steps to block and take down any criminal webpages and imagery.

A parent of a sexual extortion victim has told the IWF that being able to use the Report Remove service was a ‘game changer’ for his family. He said: “My 16-year-old son woke us up after midnight last year in a hysterical state, after being targeted online.

“Once we reassured him that he was not in trouble, we took steps to try and manage the situation and deal with it the best we could. One of these steps was to use the Report Remove tool and get his image uploaded so that the IWF could get it removed online. 

“This was a game-changer for us, in the difference that it made to how we felt. It gave us piece of mind that we had been able to do something to stop the blackmailers.”

The IWF reviews all submissions to Report Remove and works swiftly to ensure sexual images of children are removed.

Children using this tool can also talk to a Childline counsellor if they want any extra support, or access support on the Childline website.

Actioned reports of sexual imagery were highest among 14 to 15 year olds (48%) on Report Remove but analysts are also seeing imagery from a growing number of 11 to 13 year olds, with a 431% increase in reports compared with 2023. Children aged between 16 and 17 are the second largest group with 262 reports.

The IWF has also released ‘concerning’ sexual extortion figures that show predators continue to target children online for sexual imagery. 

IWF analysts actioned 175 instances of sexual extortion in 2024, most of which came via the Report Remove tool (86%). The remaining instances were found through proactive searching by the IWF Hotline.

The total figure remains virtually unchanged from 2023. The NCA issued an unprecedented alert that went out to all secondary schools in the UK in April 2024 to raise awareness of the crime.

There are also signs that the age of children reporting sexual extortion via Report Remove is getting younger, as analysts are seeing sexual extortion imagery from 11- to 13-year-olds for the first time.

In cases of sexual extortion, children are often tricked into believing they are engaging with a peer online and persuaded to share nude images and videos. Once the blackmailer has what they want, they swiftly turn nasty and threaten the child, warning that they will share the image widely unless the child provides more sexual images and videos or money. 

The impact on a child can be devastating. Often the offenders threaten to make it appear as if the child was a perpetrator of a crime, rather than a victim, which creates further harm and pressure.

Adults can contact the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000 or via help@nspcc.org.uk and Childline is always confidentially available for children and young people on 0800 1111 or at childline.org.uk. 

Children who are being threatened online are given the following advice:

1. Report what has happened. You can do this by contacting your local police on 101 or making a report to the National Crime Agency’s CEOP Safety Centre, where a Child Protection Advisor will make sure you get the help you need. Always call 999 if you are in immediate danger.
2. If you’re not ready to make a report to the police or feel worried about what might happen, you can speak to understanding and non-judgemental people at Childline. You don’t need to give your name or details.
3. If you have copies of the images, videos, or links to the website where images or videos may be shown, you can use an online tool called Report Remove. Report Remove is here to help young people, under 18, in the UK to confidentially report sexual images and videos of themselves and the IWF will then try to have them removed from the internet. Once you’ve used Report Remove, you will also be able to talk to a trained Childline counsellor, who will have provided support to other children and young people in the same situation.
4. Stop all contact with anyone who is trying to blackmail or threaten. Do not share any more images or videos or pay any money of any sort. If you have been communicating on an app, there should be in-built tools to block and report the user.
5. Finally, remember - this is not your fault. The person trying to blackmail or sexually extort you is the one who is in the wrong. Lots of other young people have been in a similar situation. If you're feeling upset and need to talk to someone, you can get in touch with Childline. 

Source: Ofcom published on this website Monday 10 March 2025 by Jill Powell

User-to-user and search services must carry out an illegal content risk assessment. This is a legal obligation and requires service providers to assess the risks associated with priority offences and other illegal content on their services. Services must also make and keep a written record, in an easily understandable form, of all aspects of every illegal content risk assessment, including details about how the assessment was carried out and its findings.

On 16 December 2024, Ofcom published Risk Assessment Guidance and Risk Profiles to help service providers comply with the illegal content risk assessment duties. This guidance sets out a four-step risk assessment process, to help services comply with the illegal content risk assessment duties. We also published Record Keeping and Review Guidance to assist providers in meeting their record keeping and review duties.

In line with the illegal content risk assessment duties coming into force, we have decided to request records of the illegal content risk assessments from a number of providers of in-scope services. We will use the information services provide to identify possible compliance concerns, and to monitor how our illegal content risk assessment guidance and record keeping guidance are applied by industry.

We expect this programme to run for at least 12 months, during which time we may decide to open separate formal investigations if we have concerns that a service provider may not be meeting its duties under the Act. We will publish updates on progress at relevant points over this period.

Source: Child Safeguarding Review Panel published on this website Tuesday 11 March 2025 by Jill Powell

The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel has today (11th March 2025) published a report about 53 children from Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage backgrounds who died or were seriously harmed between January 2022 and March 2024. These children were subject to horrific abuse, including sexual abuse, fatal assault and neglect, with 27 children dying as a result.

The report sought to understand the specific safeguarding needs of children from these specific ethnic backgrounds and how agencies helped to protect them before it was too late. It has revealed a significant silence in talking about race and racism in child safeguarding, with many local areas failing to acknowledge the impact of race, ethnicity and culture.

The key findings include:

• Limited Attention to Race and Ethnicity: the analysis reveals a concerning lack of focus on race, ethnicity, and culture in both safeguarding practice and reviews. This oversight has resulted in insufficient critical analysis and reflection on how racial bias impacts decision-making and service offers to children.
• Silence on Racism: the report identifies a pervasive silence and hesitancy to address racism and its manifestations. This silence renders the safeguarding needs of Black, Asian, and Mixed Heritage children invisible, both in practice and in the system for learning from reviews.
• Missed Opportunities: in failing to acknowledge race, racial bias and racism, the current system misses many opportunities to learn from incidents where Black, Asian, and Mixed Heritage children have been seriously harmed or died. This failure to see the totality of children’s lives or to scrutinise how racial bias may have affected decision-making leaves children vulnerable and at risk of harm, without the necessary support and protection.

Risk-assessment and decision-making is a common theme across all safeguarding reviews, but this analysis has highlighted specific issues in relation to race. For example, in 19 reviews risk had been at least partially recognised, but this had not translated into action. This included several examples about girls from Asian and Mixed Asian Heritages who made disclosures about sexual abuse, but these appeared either to have been disregarded as untrue or were not carefully followed up.

In one review family members had vocalised that they perceived practitioners to be racist. However, the review appeared to distance itself from any possibility of racism by noting that practitioners had been mindful of the ethnicity of the family. The review then concluded these accusations were groundless, but did not provide evidence about whether the claims had been investigated or provide any detail about how this judgement had been made.

The Panel’s report contains a number of recommendations for local areas so they can better protect Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage children who are at risk of harm. The lead recommendations include:

• Acknowledging and Challenging Racism: local leaders should ensure that appropriate internal structures are in place to support practitioners to recognise, discuss and challenge internal and institutional racism.
• Empowering Practitioners: creating conditions that empower practitioners to have conversations with children and families about race and identity. This includes building skills and confidence and ensuring there are safe opportunities for self-reflection within teams and in supervision to acknowledge their own biases.
• Reviewing Local Strategies: Child Safeguarding Partnerships should review their local strategies and approaches to addressing race, racism, and racial bias in their work with Black, Asian, and Mixed Heritage children.

These recommendations are a crucial step towards creating a more inclusive and effective safeguarding system that recognises and addresses the unique challenges faced by Black, Asian, and Mixed Heritage children.

Annie Hudson, Chair of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel said:

“Racism is insidious, pervasive and deeply embedded in society. The recognition of racism and racial bias as a societal issue is a crucial step in reflecting on, and learning more about, how Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage children are protected from abuse and neglect.

“The Panel recognises the important work being undertaken in some safeguarding partnerships to address race and racism and to develop anti-racist practice approaches. However, evidence from this analysis indicates that too often critical questions are avoided, evaded and sidestepped.

“As part of the analysis, the Panel examined its own role and biases in our work with safeguarding partnerships and in national reviews. We are clear we have more to do and want this report to contribute to local and national discussions, building collective knowledge and understanding.

“This is essential if we are to ensure that Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage children are safeguarded and receive the help and support they need to thrive and have happy and safe lives.”

Source: Northamptonshire Police published on this website Friday 7 March 2025 by Jill Powell

A 24-year-old man who sexually assaulted a girl and was found with more than 5,000 indecent images of children has been jailed.

Hassan Subhan, previously of Conyngham Road, Northampton, first came to Northamptonshire Police’s attention in June 2022 when intelligence suggested that he may be in possession of indecent images of children.

He was investigated by the Force’s Online Child Abuse Investigation Unit (OCAIU) which found more than 5,000 indecent images of children on his electronic devices, 2,069 of those being Category A – the most serious. 

Officers also found first generation videos that he had created of him sexually assaulting a five-year-old child.

Officers arrested Subhan and identified the child in the videos who was safeguarded.

He was subsequently charged with one count of sexual assault of a child, three counts of making indecent images of children, three counts of distributing indecent images of children, one count of possessing prohibited images and one count of possessing extreme images.

After pleading guilty to the offences at Northampton Crown Court on January 8, he returned to the same court on February 28 where he was sentenced to nine years in prison with an extended sentence of five years on licence.

Detective Inspector Matt Haworth said: “I am really pleased with this sentence which reflects how seriously Northamptonshire Police take these offences.

“Hussan thought that by acting online he was afforded anonymity from his offences however through the diligent investigation of the lead investigator and one of our dedicated intelligence officers, his offending was identified and he has been brought to justice.

“The Online Child Abuse Investigation Unit is here to tackle the sexual abuse of children and those who use the internet to abuse the most vulnerable.

“Our message remains simple: if you offend against children in our county, we will arrest you and put you before the courts.”

If you have been a victim of sexual abuse, whether recent or non-recent, please come forward by calling 101 or via the online reporting tool at www.northants.police.uk.

We will believe you.

If you have been a victim of rape or sexual abuse, but are not yet ready to speak to the police, please visit www.nhft.nhs.uk/serenity or call Serenity on 01604 601713.

Serenity provides free, confidential 24/7 support.

You can also visit www.voicenorthants.org or call Voice on 0300 303 1965.

Voice is a support service for anyone living in Northamptonshire, regardless of when, where or how crime happened to you. Services are free, confidential and you don’t have to have reported anything to the police.