LONDON, Oct 7 (Bernama-PA Media/dpa) – Children are facing an “avalanche” of sexual exploitation and abuse behind closed doors, according to a study by Scottish researchers, reported PA Media/dpa.
A wide-ranging analysis of population-based surveys suggested 7 per cent of children across Western Europe are raped or sexually assaulted before they turn 18.
Almost 20 per cent reported experiencing online solicitation or grooming before they turned 18 – defined as unwanted or pressured sexual interactions online.
This suggests that nearly 15 million children in the region are affected.
The figures were published in the annual report by the Childlight Global Child Safety Institute, based at the University of Edinburgh.
By analysing population-based surveys from across several countries, it produced insights into the scale of sexual assault and rape of children.
The figures for rape and sexual assault showed that prevalence is higher among females (9.7 per cent) than among males (3.9 per cent).
The analysis was of 48 studies from 19 European countries.
Childlight chief executive Paul Stanfield said: “People often say home is where the heart is but, sadly for too many children, home is where the hurt is.
“We see betrayal of trust by those known to children on a vast scale, compounded by insufficient protections by tech companies and regulators to avoid digital crime scenes in children’s bedrooms.
“It’s a hidden emergency in places where children should be safest, an avalanche of abuse behind closed doors – but it’s preventable, not inevitable.”
The Childlight centre also highlighted a recent surge in harmful AI-generated “deep fake” abuse material.
This surged by 325 per cent between 2023 and 2024, according to the US-based National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children.
Professor Deborah Fry of the University of Edinburgh led the research.
She said: “Even though the evidence is limited to a handful of countries and prevalence estimates vary widely, what we know about sexual violence against children within families underscores the need to invest in primary prevention or stopping it before it ever starts.
“This is a form of violence that is hardest to measure and often hardest to confront.”
She said many cases are never identified because children often stay silent.
Prof Fry said: “They may fear the abuser or that they will hurt their family, they may blame themselves – or not realise that what happened was abuse.
“Yet we know it can lead to lasting trauma, affecting the health and even life expectancy of survivors.”
A spokesman for the UK Government said: “Child sexual abuse is a vile crime that inflicts lasting trauma.
“We are fully committed to tackling it through strong national and local leadership, doing everything in our power to prevent harm, protect children, and support victims and survivors.
“We are equally uncompromising in confronting predators who exploit the Internet and emerging technologies to commit these horrific acts.
“UK law is crystal clear: creating, possessing, or distributing child sexual abuse material — including AI-generated images — is illegal.”
— BERNAMA-PA MEDIA/dpa