Trigger warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of child abuse as well as descriptions of pornographic material. Reader discretion is encouraged.
There’s been a sharp rise in child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in recent years, a disturbing trend experts say is due to youth producing it themselves and fueled by access to violent porn and smartphones.
Numerous studies on CSAM are emerging, with experts urgently urging action based on their observations and warnings.
Susie Hargreaves, chief executive of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), emphasized the “tidal wave of child sexual abuse imagery involving younger and younger children every year.”
Police in the UK say that mainstream violent porn and its easy access on smartphones has fueled the rise of child-on-child abuse. New figures recorded in 2022 revealed that children committed over half (52%) of reported child sexual abuse offenses.
Data was collected from 42 police forces across England and Wales. It showed 106,984 child sexual abuse offenses reported in 2022, a 7.6% increase from the year prior and over five times the just over 20,000 reports recorded in 2013. In 2022, nearly 107,000 offenses were recorded. Of these, 52% involved a child aged 10 to 17 as the suspect or perpetrator, a significant increase from one-third of reported cases in 2013.
The youngest reported to police was a four-year-old child who uploaded an indecent image of a sibling to the internet using a smartphone.
The National Police Chief’s Council shared the following statistics in the landmark report:
- 107,000 child sexual abuse offenses were reported
- 52% were children on other children
- 80% of victims knew their abuser
- 32% of offenses were committed online
The data shows a rise in both crimes involving indecent images and direct physical abuse. The most common offenses committed by children aged 10 to 17 include sexual assault on a female (15%). Other common offenses are rape of a female under 16 (12%) and taking, making, or sharing CSAM.
Ian Critchley, the national policing lead for child abuse protection and investigation, said the predominantly “gender-based crime of boys committing offenses against girls” has been “exacerbated” by the accessibility to smartphones and “violent pornography.”
“The availability and accessibility of that violent pornography has just become normalized.
What we see is gender-based crime in relation to boys, how they are abusing and harassing and, in some cases, committing sexual assault and rape against their peers.
The implications for victims are lifelong as they are for the child sex offender within the criminal justice system, potentially facing custodial sentences and also being on the sex offenders’ register.”
Critchley also stressed the risk to children from adults.
A report from The Independent Inquiry into child sexual abuse found that one in six girls and one in 20 boys will be abused in childhood, with many crimes likely to remain unreported. 73% of crimes were committed directly against children, with about a third involving abuse within families and the remainder involving indecent images.
Researchers also found that many pedophiles use artificial intelligence (AI) and “deep fake” technology to create abusive images of children, including tools or techniques that “nudify” existing real pictures.
The report emphasized how children are often victims of ‘sextortion.’ This involves blackmail with threats of sending images to family or sharing them on social media.
Wendy Hart, deputy director for child sexual abuse at the NCA, called on tech companies to do more to keep kids safe. She said, “We are now seeing hyper-realistic images and videos of abuse being created using artificial intelligence…while the rollout of end-to-end encryption by technology platforms makes it a lot more difficult for us to protect children.
“Alongside our policing partners and Ofcom, we are working closely with the industry to ensure platforms have adequate safety measures designed and that our collective ability to tackle the threat keeps pace with technology.
“With over half of reported crimes involving child-on-child abuse, there’s an urgent need for education on this issue.”
Self-generated CSAM: an increasing global issue
In 2021 quantitative research among 9-17 year olds, Thorn also revealed staggering findings regarding self-generated child sexual abuse material (SG-CSAM)—or explicit imagery of a child that appears to have been taken by the child in the image.
- Since 2019, there has been a sustained increase in minors self-reporting that they have shared their own nudes.
- In 2021, 1 in 6 minors reported sharing their own SG-CSAM. This includes 1 in 7 minors aged 9-12 and 1 in 5 minors aged 13-17.
- Year after year, the perceived normalcy that their close friends nonconsensually reshare another child’s SG-CSAM has increased yearly. In 2021, 1 in 6 minors reported they believed their close friends at least sometimes nonconsensually reshare another child’s nudes.
- Boys continue to demonstrate areas of increased risk. They have consistently reported a higher likelihood of resharing others’ content and thinking that resharing is legal. Compared with 2019, the number of younger boys (aged 9-12) reporting they had shared their own nudes more than doubled while reporting among older boys (aged 13-17) nearly tripled.
- 2 in 3 minors who have shared their own SG-CSAM have shared it within the past year
- Older minors (13-17) were 2x as likely to think sharing nudes with peers is normal compared with younger minors (aged 9-12)
- Among kids who have shared nudes, 42% reported they had shared nude imagery with someone aged 18 or older
- 1 in 5 minors reported they had seen nonconsensually reshared SG-CSAM
- 1 in 8 minors aged 9-12 reported they had seen nonconsensually reshared SG-CSAM
- 1 in 5 younger boys (aged 9-12) and 1 in 4 older boys (aged 13-17) believe their friends at least sometimes share nudes of other kids
View Thorn’s full report here.
While many would like to assume porn doesn’t affect anyone but the individual who consumes it—which can be extremely harmful in and of itself—porn’s impact clearly extends far beyond that. Fueling child-on-child sexual abuse and CSAM is just only example of the devastating ripple effect porn’s impact can have.
The dangers of porn can reach and harm the lives of individuals (including but not only the consumer), relationships, and society as a whole.
In the case of CSAM, porn’s role is clear. Violent attitudes and behaviors are normalized in the mainstream porn kids are exposed to younger and younger, as is an attitude of entitlement—that sexually explicit images of whoever you want should be accessible and consumable whenever you want. Porn also sells the idea that the individuals in the images are objects to be consumed, not real people whose exploitation has devastating consequences.
One conversation at a time
The digital landscape we live in and the prevalence and accessibility of violent mainstream porn make it all the more urgent for parents and caregivers to engage in conversations with kids that have historically been perceived as “uncomfortable,” “embarrassing,” or “taboo.”
The dangers of porn are out there, and when it comes to exposure to violent pornography and even the risk of becoming a victim of CSAM, it may be more a matter of “when” than “if.” Conversations about these risks need to be had early and often.
But you don’t have to do this ill-equipped or alone. There’s an ever-growing body of research, data, and resources available to help inform both kids and parents and pave the way for open, informed conversations that can ultimately improve lives.
Check out our Parent Resource Page for help navigating today’s digital landscape, accessing research articles and podcasts, starting conversations, recovery, monitoring devices, and more.