Press Releases

Published date: 03 Oct 2024

Alarming Surge in reported Child Sexual Abuse Material points to urgent need for Expert Resourcing Within An Garda Síochána

The Children’s Rights Alliance raises serious concerns about the volume of reports of Child Sexual Abuse Material following the publication today of the latest report from Hotline.ie which revealed a 110% increase in 2023, compared to 2022. Speaking in response to the report, Online Safety Coordinator at the Children’s Rights Alliance, Noeline Blackwell said:

“It is deeply troubling to hear from Hotline.ie that it received more than 29,000 reports of child sexual abuse material in 2023, more than double the number received in 2022 and a ten-fold rise since 2020. While it is positive that Hotline.ie is there for people to make reports to, it is entirely unacceptable in our society that so many reports of this illegal and abusive material were found. And that is only the reported cases. When we consider the demographic affected, these figures become even more concerning as over half of the cases referenced are pre-teen children (57%) and over two in five are their early teens (43%), and almost all of whom were female (97%). We cannot ignore that at the heart of each of these reports of child sexual abuse material is a child or children who have been harmed.”

“Such offences must be stopped by concerted police activity from the Gardaí and their colleagues internationally, and An Garda Siochána must be properly resourced to do this. All internet platforms must also be much more vigilant and proactive in moderating this content and stop it being disseminated. This is not a nameless, faceless crime. Those who commit this criminal abuse which causes real harm to children live in our communities and society. They cannot and should not be able to act with impunity.”

“Earlier this year, the Policing Authority found that in just the first three months of 2024, more than 25 Irish children had been identified as victims of online child abuse material, with children as young as five among these. So, it is not simply the case that this disturbing content is present in Ireland, so too are the victims.”

“It is also very concerning that this report reveals a rapid rise of self-generated material which are images and videos that a child has taken themselves. This has increased by 280% from the previous year. This speaks to the power of the systemic, orchestrated industry of Online Child Sexual Abuse Material where criminals make lucrative profits exploiting the innocence of children and young teenagers. The unsettling evidence laid bare in this report includes adults grooming or coercing children in sexual acts while on video and recording them. The most vulnerable children offline are often the most vulnerable children online and we should be using every resource at our disposal to ensure not one of them is subjected to this level of abuse,” continued Noeline Blackwell.

“If we want to see any progress in curtailing these figures we need to act urgently and decisively. We know that there are likely many more cases of illegal content currently online than those reported. We need to see greater progress in removing this content before it reaches an audience, as well as ensuring that all traces of content are identified and permanently removed. Victims must be supported and profiters punished. It is vital that the perpetrators of child sexual abuse creation and distribution are caught and brought to justice. For this to happen, we need to see our specialist Garda National Protective Services Bureau supported with adequate tools to properly address this issue and this must include the provision of resourcing and expertise for Child Sexual Abuse Specialists,” concluded Noeline Blackwell.

_ENDS_

Contact:
Contact: Robyn Keleghan, [email protected] / 087 136 8975

Notes to Editors:
• Noeline Blackwell, Online Safety Coordinator, Children’s Rights Alliance and other spokespeople are available for interview.
• Hotline.ie is the Irish national reporting centre where members of the public can securely, anonymously, and confidentially report concerns in respect of illegal content online, especially child sexual abuse material (CSAM): hotline.ie
• The National 24 hour Sexual Violence Helpline at 1800 77 8888 offers free and confidential listening and support service for anyone who has been raped, sexually assaulted, sexually harassed or sexually abused at any time in their lives.
• Childline can be contacted by any child or young person by calling 1800 66 66 66 or chatting online at Childline.ie 24 hours a day, every day to talk about any issue on their mind.

About the Children’s Rights Alliance
Founded in 1995, the Children’s Rights Alliance unites over 150 members working together to make Ireland one of the best places in the world to be a child. Further information is available at: childrensrights.ie or on Twitter, @ChildRightsIRL