Photo by Luke Chesser on Unsplash

Campaigners are urgently calling for robust age verification measures on pornography websites to protect children in light of startling statistics showing an increase in sexual offences committed by minors.

The National Police Chiefs Council revealed a worrying 7.6% increase in child sexual abuse offences in 2022 compared to the previous year, totalling 106,984 cases.

Over half of these offences were committed by minors aged between 10 and 17, with the age of 14 being the most common.

CARE (Christian Action Research and Education), has campaigned for age verification for years, and describes the situation as "alarming".

Tim Cairns, an online safety expert at CARE, says, "The disturbing number of children and teenagers committing sexual offences points to the need to restrict access to pornography.

"We know that pornography is a leading factor in sexual crime. Children reenact what they see online.

"Most younger children encounter porn by accident. Robust age verification measures will help prevent the youngest and most vulnerable children being exposed to content that is damaging them and inspiring abuse."

The UK communications regulator, Ofcom, is tasked with developing new rules to ensure pornographic websites effectively check the age of users.

Cairns emphasises, "It is vital that Ofcom gets age verification, and other long overdue safety measures outlined in the Online Safety Act, right. We will be examining the regulator's proposals for achieving this carefully."

A CARE-commissioned Savanta poll shows that public sentiment strongly supports these measures – eight out of ten people are in favour of age checks to protect children.

Additionally, another poll for CARE revealed that 60% of UK adults are worried about pornography leading to sexual violence against women and girls.

These developments underline the critical need for responsible online governance to safeguard children from inappropriate and harmful digital content.