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Analysis by age
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Babies and toddlers
We see the very youngest children subjected to the most severe kind of abuse proportionally more frequently. We see babies, toddlers, and sometimes even newborns suffer horrific sexual mistreatment by adults.
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Young children
Sadly, we have seen a rise in the proportion of category A imagery - including rape and sexual sadism - relating to young children. In many cases, children are abused by adults or older children in images and videos produced specifically for commercial distribution. These are then distributed on the open internet or, increasingly, using hidden services on the ‘dark web’. In 2020, we saw hidden services enter our top 10 hosting locations for this age group for the first time.
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Pre-pubescent children
We’re seeing an increasing number of “self-generated” images and videos involving pre-pubescent children. Like their teenage peers, they’re frequently coerced into exposing themselves and performing sexual acts on live streaming sites. These live streams are then recorded and captured by offenders and shared across other platforms.
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Older children
Life is increasingly lived online, and older children are often quick to explore new technology. When we see 11-13 year olds, over half of the time it’s in “self-generated” child sexual abuse imagery, created using webcams or smartphones. Often, these are girls who are alone in their bedroom or elsewhere in the home.
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Teenagers
In 2020, many teenagers were unable to socialise normally with their peers. With schools closed intermittently and free time activities often restricted to the home, teenagers have been spending even more time online. Unfortunately, offenders have exploited this by encouraging children, especially girls, into sexual activity which is then covertly recorded - sometimes even by pretending to be teenagers themselves.
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Older teenagers
In many cases, the images we see of 16-17 year olds are “self-generated” and have initially been shared consensually with a boyfriend or girlfriend before being shared further online. As it can be difficult to assess the age of older teenagers accurately, we can only remove sexual imagery of them when their age has been verified. In 2020, we were able to remove more criminal images of older teenagers by working closely with law enforcement partners and making it easier for young people to report to us directly.
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