Home Office pledges £40m fund to fight rising child sex abuse cases

Child sex abuse cases recorded by the police have more than doubled in the past five years, figures show as the Home Office announced a £40 million fund to tackle the issue.

Official figures show that there has been a 130 per cent increase in the recording of “contact child abuse offences” by the police since 2012.

It came as Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, announced a major cash boost to anti-child abuse initiatives to prevent a repeat of high-profile episodes such as the scandals seen in Rotherham, Rochdale and Oxford.

The National Crime Agency will receive an extra £20 million to tackle online child sexual exploitation under the drive. A new Centre of Expertise will be launched and £2.2 million given to charities working to protect children at risk of trafficking.

Professionals such as teachers, social workers and police are also being given a revised definition of child sexual exploitation.

According to government figures, in the past year there has been a 14 per cent increase in the volume of defendants prosecuted and a 19 per cent increase in the volume of offenders convicted for child sexual abuse-related offences.

The Home Office makes clear that a victim “may have been sexually exploited even if the sexual activity appears consensual”, and states that child sexual exploitation can “occur through the use of technology”.

Writing for Mumsnet, Ms Rudd said: “The measures I am announcing today will further improve our ability to protect children and under my watch I am determined to bring those that would try to steal their childhood to justice.”

The Centre of Expertise – headed by the charity Barnardo’s – will become the “definitive source of information and guidance to those tackling child sexual abuse and exploitation on the front line”, the Home Office said.