Child-on-child abuse is increasing in the UK, but criminalising young people will only do more damage

‘Education needs to strike a balance of emphasising that the legal implications can lead to serious consequences and discussing the emotional impacts.’ Photograph: Image Source/Getty

When the National Police Chiefs’ Council released its analysis of crimes of child sexual abuse and exploitation recently, one figure particularly concerned me. Crimes in this category are changing, it found. For instance, child-on-child abuse, which historically represented about a third of offences, now accounts for just over half. The report described this as “a growing and concerning trend” – and it is.

But as a psychologist who investigates the sexualisation of young people, I don’t think the answer is criminalising them. About 25% of all sexual offences against children relate to online offences of indecent images, the report found. What young people need is support, information and guidance from the adults around them as they navigate an increasingly complicated online world.