A new study led by the Childlight Global Child Safety Institute, hosted at the University of Edinburgh, has revealed horrifying rates of child sexual abuse and exploitation across Western Europe.
It finds that 7 per cent of children in the region are raped or sexually assaulted before they turn 18, with girls disproportionately affected. Almost 20 per cent report online grooming or solicitation. The researchers warn that many of these abuses happen in places meant to be safe, even in children's own homes.
