Online Child Sexual Abuse
The sexual abuse of children and young people online is hugely damaging for victims and their families. The consequences for victims can last a lifetime, ruining relationships, health and long-term wellbeing.
The #GetHelpOrGetCaught campaign targets men who are either already offending or at risk of offending and comes at a time when reports of online child abuse continue to increase with nearly 2,000 offences recorded by Police Scotland between 1 April, 2022 and 31 March, 2023.
Tackling online child abuse remains a key priority for Police Scotland, and this includes working with partners to prevent abuse and divert potential perpetrators from committing offences.
Featuring a film produced by the charity Stop It Now!, the campaign highlights the consequences of offending for perpetrators and urges them to stop and seek help by contacting Stop It Now! Scotland or get caught!
Stop It Now! deterrence campaigns have been running for several years and evaluation proves that their support has an impact on reducing offending behaviour.
We know that men aged 18 and above are most likely to sexually abuse children. The behaviour can often escalate from frequent use, over long periods of time, of online legal pornography to barely legal or extreme types of pornography and the viewing of illegal sexual images of children.
Online child sexual abuse is not virtual; its repercussions are real, for the victims of these horrific crimes, but also for perpetrators.
The campaign film will be used to target offenders and those at risk of offending to seek confidential, non-judgemental help from Stop It Now! Scotland.
For further information visit the Child Sexual Abuse pages in our Advice and Information section.
