27/01/2025: Scottish child abuse gang members jailed for between eight and 20 years
Seven people, whom the judge said had plumbed ‘the depths of human depravity’, will be monitored for life
17/01/2025: Police fear ‘rightwing driven’ reaction to grooming gangs will harm victims
Senior officers say fraction of child abuse cases relate to gangs and funding could be diverted from current cases.
16/01/2025: Home Secretary announces local inquiries into grooming gangs
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has announced a £5 million plan to implement five local inquiries into grooming gangs.
16/01/2025: Government orders national audit of child sexual exploitation by gangs
Three-month review to probe current scale and nature of gang-based exploitation, while government will also fund and support councils to carry out local inquiries into past abuse, says home secretary Yvette Cooper
08/01/2025: Child sex abuse and grooming gangs: What we know, and what we don’t, from the data
Recent debates over grooming gangs have been marked by accusations of lies and disinformation – this is what the data actually tells us about the victims and perpetrators of child sexual abuse.
04/12/2024: Telegram U-turns and joins child safety scheme
After years of ignoring pleas to sign up to child protection schemes, the controversial messaging app Telegram has agreed to work with an internationally recognised body to stop the spread of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
24/11/2024: AI increasingly used for sextortion, scams and child abuse, says senior UK police chief
The fast-developing technology is providing opportunities in ‘any crime type’ – and police must ‘move fast’ to catch up.
08/11/2024: SWGfL Advocate for Legislative Change on Intimate Image Abuse at Parliament
SWGfL attended a session at parliament on Wednesday 6th November to share their insights on intimate image abuse with the Women and Equalities Committee presenting evidence detailing the immense impact of non-consensual intimate image abuse (NCII) and the critical need to modernise current legislation to protect adults facing this form of abuse.
07/11/2024: “I don’t want to go down that road”: The harms inflicted on criminally exploited children – follow up to the Jay Review
In March 2024, Action for Children published the findings of the Jay Review, an extensive UK-wide review of exploitation. In October 2024, Action for Children published a follow-up report.
04/11/2024: Online grooming crimes against children increase by 89% in six years
As offences rise to record levels, we’re calling for a strengthened approach from Ofcom and for tougher legislation from the UK government.