SEXUAL CYBER CRIMES ON RISE
Fears for child safety after research shows 50 per cent increase in online offences
SEXUAL cyber crimes soared by 50 per cent in three years – raising new fears for child safety on the internet.
More than half the victims were under 16, according to research covering the past three years.
Offences include indecent communications and viewing sexual activity or images.
Sex crimes in the category rose from 2901 in 2013-14 to 4360 by this year. They are recorded separately from rape and assault, and are largely driven by growth in social media and the internet.
Official figures show recorded sexual crime has risen by five per cent to the highest point since 1971.
Sandy Brindley, chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland, said: “This is a wake-up call.
“If we are serious about tackling the increasing levels of sexual crime being experienced by young people, we must ensure that every young person in Scotland has access to interventions on consent and healthy relationships.”
An NSPCC Scotland spokesman said: “Almost a quarter of internet-enabled crimes had victims and perpetrators who were aged under 16. This abuse of children by children is a serious cause for concern.”
The total number of recorded sexual crimes grew from 10,273 to 10,822 in a year. Almost half the growth over the period was due to “cyber-enabled” offences.
Crimes of “communicating indecently” rose from 605 to 1166, while offences of “causing to view sexual activity or images” increased from 229 to 1030.
The figures showed 79 per cent of victims were female and 59 per cent were under 16. Most victims knew the offender but were strangers in 42 per cent of cases.
Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said: “More work is required to understand why particularly young males are behaving in this way and to prevent sexual offending.
“I am bringing together an expert group to identify steps needed to better tackle and prevent such offending.”
Abuse of children by children is a serious cause for concern NSPCC SCOTLAND