NCA and UK Policing leads warn child sexual abuse is increasing in severity, complexity, and accessibility, driven by online platforms, generative AI, and end-to-end encryption making detection harder

Offenders are using online communities to share and normalise abusive material, while livestreamed abuse and financially motivated sexual extortion are rising, particularly against boys. Despite NCA’s Child Sexual Exploitation Referrals Bureau receiving around 1,700 reports per week and police making about 1,000 potential offender arrests monthly, the scale of abuse remains high, highlighting the ongoing challenges of safeguarding children in the digital age…