Latest news with #JessPhillips
BBC News
4 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Court backlog 'main issue' hampering justice, says police chief
Criminal cases involving violence against women and girls should be dealt with within two weeks, a police force's chief constable has Hogg, Thames Valley Police's (TVP) most senior officer, said the "main issue" in resolving cases over recent years has been the criminal justice system's said some females could be waiting until 2027 for their case to go to trial and called for more investment to cut delays.A Ministry of Justice (MoJ) spokesperson said it was "clear there are many cases taking far too long" to get to that stage. The government said in March that violence against women and girls was "unacceptably high", with Femicide Census finding that since 2010, on average, a woman has been killed by a man in the UK every three Phillips, the government's minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, said that its target to halve violence against females in a decade "is not an abstract goal – it is a top priority".Mr Hogg told a panel of Oxfordshire councillors it could be "difficult" getting cases to court in the first place."But the main issue is the time it's taking to get to court and the criminal justice backlog," he said."[Police and prosecutors are] actually doing pretty well and, this is all relative, but a case going to crown court, it's going to be [heard in] 2027." He added: "Witness care units need to keep those victims engaged for what could be a couple of years."Sexual offences, the judges try to prioritise but there's not enough judges, not enough barristers, not enough court space. "If the government wants to tackle violence against women and girls and halve it, we need to get cases charged quickly and in court in two weeks."It needs an investment in the criminal justice system." The MoJ's spokesperson said: "We know that justice delayed is justice denied and it is clear there are many cases taking far too long to go to trial."That's why we've asked Sir Brian Leveson to propose once-in-a-generation reform to address the outstanding backlog in our courts."Alongside this we're also providing funding for a record level of sitting days this financial year, raising national court capacity to deliver swifter justice for victims." You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
The Sun
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Online child sexual abuse is the next grooming crisis, warn ministers
ONLINE child sexual abuse could be 'the next grooming crisis', experts warn ministers. Children are being groomed and coerced online in 'astonishing numbers', according to the Internet Watch Foundation. 2 2 The charity runs the biggest hotline in Europe dedicated to finding and removing vile child sexual abuse material from the internet. Derek Ray-Hill, Interim CEO, said: 'We must not look back in years to come and say we did not know. 'The evidence is there. Children are being groomed and coerced online in astonishing numbers. 'The images and videos of their sexual abuse – orchestrated by offenders who are sometimes hundreds of miles away – are shared like trading cards by communities of online offenders. 'This will be the next grooming crisis unless we all act now, as a society, to protect children from the dangers.' It comes after a damning review laid bare the failings of the British state to stop the abuse of white girls by gangs of men of Pakistani origin. The audit by Baroness Louise Casey quotes one police expert saying, 'If Rotherham were to happen again today it would start online.' Mr Ray-Hill added: 'I worry that, even as we unpack this devastating scandal and its repercussions, another crisis is brewing.' Earlier this month Sir Keir Starmer performed a U-turn and ordered a national inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal. Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips told the Sun on Sunday: 'Baroness Casey's rapid audit exposed the horrifying abuse grooming gangs are inflicting on girls and young women. Signs your child is secretly being groomed on the school run and what to do to help them 'We are accepting all the recommendations in the report, including on how sick perpetrators are increasingly grooming children online, and we will not hesitate to go further. 'We are alive to the latest online threats like the rise of 'self-generated' child sexual abuse imagery, which is highly disturbing, and we fully support the robust implementation of the Online Safety Act. 'We are also strengthening law enforcement's response, using cutting-edge technology, intelligence and investigators to bring perpetrators of these horrific crimes to justice.' The Government also recently introduced four new laws to crack down on online child sexual abuse.
The Sun
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Online child sexual abuse is the next grooming crisis, ministers warned
ONLINE child sexual abuse could be 'the next grooming crisis', experts warn ministers. Children are being groomed and coerced online in 'astonishing numbers', according to the Internet Watch Foundation. 3 3 The charity runs the biggest hotline in Europe dedicated to finding and removing vile child sexual abuse material from the internet. Derek Ray-Hill, Interim CEO, said: 'We must not look back in years to come and say we did not know. 'The evidence is there. Children are being groomed and coerced online in astonishing numbers. 'The images and videos of their sexual abuse – orchestrated by offenders who are sometimes hundreds of miles away – are shared like trading cards by communities of online offenders. 'This will be the next grooming crisis unless we all act now, as a society, to protect children from the dangers.' It comes after a damning review laid bare the failings of the British state to stop the abuse of white girls by gangs of men of Pakistani origin. The audit by Baroness Louise Casey quotes one police expert saying, 'If Rotherham were to happen again today it would start online.' Mr Ray-Hill added: 'I worry that, even as we unpack this devastating scandal and its repercussions, another crisis is brewing.' Earlier this month Sir Keir Starmer performed a U-turn and ordered a national inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal. Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips told the Sun on Sunday: 'Baroness Casey's rapid audit exposed the horrifying abuse grooming gangs are inflicting on girls and young women. 3 'We are accepting all the recommendations in the report, including on how sick perpetrators are increasingly grooming children online, and we will not hesitate to go further. 'We are alive to the latest online threats like the rise of 'self-generated' child sexual abuse imagery, which is highly disturbing, and we fully support the robust implementation of the Online Safety Act. 'We are also strengthening law enforcement's response, using cutting-edge technology, intelligence and investigators to bring perpetrators of these horrific crimes to justice.' The Government also recently introduced four new laws to crack down on online child sexual abuse.
Sky News
6 days ago
- Sky News
Teachers given new guidance in dealing with AI-generated child sexual abuse material
Guidelines on how to deal with AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) have been issued to 38,000 teachers and staff across the UK. The guidelines are an attempt to help people working with children tackle the "highly disturbing" rise in AI-generated CSAM. They have been issued by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF). The AI-generated content is illegal in the UK and is treated the same as any other sexual abuse imagery of children, even if the imagery isn't photorealistic. "The rise in AI-generated child sexual abuse imagery is highly disturbing and it is vital that every arm of society keeps up with the latest online threats," said safeguarding minister Jess Phillips. "AI-generated child sexual abuse is illegal and we know that sick predators' activities online often lead to them carrying out the most horrific abuse in person. "We will not allow technology to be weaponised against children and we will not hesitate to go further to protect our children online," she said. The guidelines suggest that if young people are using AI to create nude images from each other's pictures - known as nudifying - or creating AI-generating CSAM, they may not be aware that what they're doing is illegal. Nudifying is when a non-explicit picture of someone is edited to make them appear nude and is increasingly common in "sextortion" cases - when someone is blackmailed with explicit pictures. "Where an under-18 is creating AI-CSAM, they may think it is 'just a joke' or 'banter' or do so with the intention of blackmailing or harming another child," suggests the guidance. "They may or may not recognise the illegality or the serious, lasting impact their actions can have on the victim." Last year, the NCA surveyed teachers and found that over a quarter weren't aware AI-generated CSAM was illegal, and most weren't sure their students were aware either. More than half of the respondents said guidance was their most urgently needed resource. The IWF has seen an increasing amount of AI-generated CSAM as it scours the internet, processing 380% more reports of the abuse in 2024 than in 2023. "The creation and distribution of AI-manipulated and fake sexual imagery of a child can have a devastating impact on the victim," said Derek Ray-Hill, interim chief executive at the IWF. "It can be used to blackmail and extort young people. There can be no doubt that real harm is inflicted and the capacity to create this type of imagery quickly and easily, even via an app on a phone, is a real cause for concern." Multiple paedophiles have been sent to jail for using artificial intelligence to create child sexual abuse images in recent years. Last year, Hugh Nelson was sentenced to 18 years in jail for creating AI-generated CSAM that police officers were able to link back to real children. "Tackling child sexual abuse is a priority for the NCA and our policing partners, and we will continue to investigate and prosecute individuals who produce, possess, share or search for CSAM, including AI-generated CSAM," said Alex Murray, the NCA's director of threat leadership and policing lead for artificial intelligence. In February, the government announced that AI tools designed to generate child sex abuse material would be made illegal under "world-leading" legislation. In the meantime, however, campaigners called for guidance to be issued to teachers. Laura Bates, the author of a book on the spread of online misogyny, told MPs earlier this month that deepfake pornography "would be the next big sexual violence epidemic facing schools, and people don't even know it is going on." "It shouldn't be the case that a 12-year-old boy can easily and freely access tools to create these forms of content in the first place," she said.
BBC News
23-06-2025
- BBC News
Is surveillance culture fuelling child cyberstalking?
Children being drawn into a world of cyberstalking need to be educated about healthy relationships in the digital age, says Safeguarding Minister Jess comments came in response to a BBC investigation that found some children as young as 10 and 11 had been reported to police forces in England for suspected cyberstalking say constant monitoring online is becoming normalised from a young told the BBC: "We really need to be out there educating young people on what healthy relationships look like and that will be part of the government's violence against women and girls strategy." Cyberstalking is defined as using digital tools to harass, send threats or spread false information. Just like physical stalking it is fixated, obsessive, unwanted, and repetitive behaviour that causes fear, distress, or alarm in the victim. "Young people are told they should be flattered by this sort of behaviour, but it's very serious and can really control lives, making them anxious and nervous," said Phillips. 'My heart sank' Charlotte Hooper, who works for The Cyber Helpline, which supports victims of online abuse, knows first-hand how psychologically damaging cyberstalking can 19, pictures from her social media profiles were posted across pornographic websites and other forums filled with explicit comments."My heart sank," she recalled. "I didn't really know what was going on or who had done this."But Charlotte had first become a victim of cyberstalking when she was much younger. As a teen, Charlotte had tens of thousands of followers on X - many of them older men. But there was one who became disturbingly persistent."He messaged me daily: 'Hi,' 'How are you?' 'I wish we could talk more'," she she discovered he was behind the posts on the pornographic man was cautioned by the police for malicious communications and the messages stopped. But the experience left Charlotte anxious and hyper-aware, especially in public spaces. The Crime Survey for England and Wales found people aged 16 to 19 were most likely to be victims of stalking in the year ending March the survey does not gather data on under-16s, and new police figures suggest stalking is also affecting younger children. Charlotte believes the "normalisation of digital surveillance" - especially among young people - is fuelling concerning behaviours."Sharing locations, checking online activity, and constant messaging are often seen as signs of love and care - especially when their parents are doing it for safety," she said."But it also sets precedents for their other relationships."In Kent, the national charity Protection Against Stalking has expanded its workshops in schools to meet demand."We've got so many younger people now being referred in from schools, with the youngest being 13," said operations manager Alison Bird."It's quite concerning that we are getting referrals from children that age and the perpetrators themselves are equally just as young." The Suzy Lamplugh Trust - which runs the National Stalking Helpline - said cyberstalking among under-16s remained "significantly under-researched" and underfunded, despite its growing relevance and Mascalls Academy secondary school in Kent, students said Snapchat was their most-used app. Its Snap Map feature lets users constantly share their live location with friends."When I first got with my girlfriend, pretty quickly we both had each other on Snap Map," one student told the BBC."It wasn't really a big deal - I already had it with all my friends, so why not her as well?"Snapchat shared their safety features with the BBC, which include allowing teenagers to set location-sharing to private as the default, and restricting messaging. Collett Smart, family psychologist and partner in tracking app Life360, says "location sharing can be a valuable tool for both kids and parents but even well-intentioned digital tools should be introduced and managed with care".She stressed the importance of being clear about meaningful consent, adding: "Teach your child that location sharing should always be a choice, never a condition of trust or friendship, whether with parents, friends, or future partners." 'Risk of exploitation' For Jo Brooks, principal of Mascalls Academy, one of the biggest challenges was the disconnect between students' online behaviour and their behaviour in the classroom."Some young people feel confident online and see the internet as a shield," she said. "It makes them braver and sometimes more hurtful with their words."Emma Short, professor of cyberpsychology at London Metropolitan University, agrees anonymity can be both protective and harmful."It lets people explore identities they might not feel safe expressing in real life," she said. "But it also carries the risk of exploitation." In November 2022, the National Stalking Consortium submitted a super-complaint to the Independent Office for Police Conduct and the College of Policing, raising concerns about how stalking was handled in the response, the College of Policing has urged for better tracking of online offences."Every force now has an action plan to properly record all stalking - including online," said Assistant Chief Constable Tom Harding. "That's really important, because we need to be able to track and monitor these offences." If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article, help is available from BBC Action Line. The BBC contacted 46 police forces across the UK and among the 27 that responded, 8,365 cyberstalking offences had been recorded in eight forces were able to provide an age breakdown, with the youngest alleged victim recorded as an eight-year-old boy in Wiltshire in 2024 and the youngest suspect was a 10-year-old in Cheshire in Metropolitan Police had also recorded two victims under the age of 10, but did not specify how old they were. Anonymity is a common feature in cyberstalking cases, where perpetrators can create multiple accounts to evade tackle this, the government introduced the Right to Know statutory guidance in December, allowing victims to learn their stalker's identity as quickly as measures have also expanded the use of Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs), which can restrict alleged stalkers from contacting their victims. But charities warn court delays are limiting their effectiveness."Delays are a big concern," said Phillips. "We're working to strengthen SPOs so victims stay protected - even after sentencing."
