More than half of recorded sexual offences against children in England and Wales are now committed by other children aged 10 to 17, according to new figures. Police and child protection agencies have described the trend as deeply concerning, pointing to online risks, violent pornography and safeguarding failures as key drivers.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) has warned that child sexual abuse is increasing in both scale and complexity, accelerated by technology and the spread of explicit material. Its latest National Strategic Assessment estimated that between 710,000 and 840,000 adults in the UK pose varying levels of sexual risk to children, while offending by under-18s continues to account for around half of all police-recorded cases.
