Week of action gets under way to prevent online child sexual abuse
and live on Freeview channel 276
GMP will be taking a proactive and preventive approach to online child sexual abuse which will see offenders being arrested and children safeguarded throughout the week.
The week of action is to raise public awareness of the growing problem of people viewing and sharing sexually explicit images of under 18s online. It also aims to educate those offending about the harm caused to children in the images who are re-victimised each time their image is viewed online.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad
The GMP will be working alongside the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, the only UK-wide child protection charity dedicated solely to preventing child sexual abuse.
They work with entire families that have been affected by sexual abuse including: young people with inappropriate sexual behaviours, adult male and female sexual abusers, and other family members.
A total of 18,210 people contacted their Stop it Now helpline or online self-help resources with concerns about their own or someone else’s sexual thoughts or behaviour towards children, with 7,706 of that number coming from the Greater Manchester area.
Detective Constable Martin James from Greater Manchester Police’s Online Child Abuse Investigation Team (OCAIT) said: “This week of action that will run from Monday 25 March until Friday 29 March 2024 is incredibly important to us for reaffirming to the public our commitment to tackling these types of offences.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“The team already work hard to identify offenders, bringing them to justice and safeguarding victims of sexual abuse, so we are building on the work we do already and continue to do each and every day.
“Tackling the production, downloading and distribution of indecent images online is only part of the work we do, but something we take really seriously. The contribution of charities like Lucy Faithfull Foundation, who work with offenders to stop this destructive behaviour, is really important.
“Our message is clear; GMP remains committed to protecting children from all forms of sexual abuse and we will not stop bringing offenders to justice.”