Thirty-five Men In Our Region Seek Help To Deal With Attraction To Sexual Images Of Children

Thursday, 1 December 2016 15:14

35 men from West Yorkshire have contacted a charity helpline in the last 12 months to get help to stop viewing sexual images of children online

The men called a confidential helpline operated by Stop it Now! ,a sexual abuse prevention campaign run by child protection charity, the Lucy Faithfull Foundation. The helpline offers anonymous, effective support for those worried about their own or someone else’s online sexual behaviour.

The 35 calls from West Yorkshire, made between 15 November 2015 and 14 November 2016, represent an increase of 30% in the number of calls received from the same region over the previous 12 month period.

In addition: 482 people from Leeds; 130 people from Bradford; 70 people from Huddersfield; and 38 people from Wakefield visited the Stop it Now! Get Help website at www.get-help.stopitnow.org.uk over the same period to access online self-help tools and information to tackle either their own viewing of sexual images of children, or that of a loved one.

The figures for people accessing help through the Stop it Now! helpline and website come at a time when the police are reporting an escalation, across the UK, in online viewing and sharing of child abuse images.

To help address this growing online threat, a major conference has been taking place in Wakefield today (1 December) to discuss latest developments in preventing online abuse of children. “Safeguarding Children In The Digital World” has been organised by West Yorkshire Police in collaboration with the Marie Collins Foundation (3), a UK charity that helps children to recover from sexual abuse and exploitation experienced online.

Detective Superintendent Darren Minton of West Yorkshire Police, said:

“We need the tens of thousands of men still viewing these images today to realise that what they are doing is illegal and harmful and to make sure they stop. But we also want to hear from wives, partners, parents who are worried about a loved one’s sexual behaviour online. We must not turn a blind eye to this behaviour. Confidential help and support is available from Stop it Now!"

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