UK’s Youth Justice Board highlights growing risks of online harms for children

The UK Youth Justice Board has published new evidence on how online harms affect children across England and Wales, warning that digital risks are increasingly linked to safeguarding, well-being and youth justice outcomes.

The Evidence and Insights Pack brings together research, data and practice examples to improve understanding of the risks children face online and how services can protect them more effectively.

The report says children face overlapping digital harms, including cyberbullying, sexual abuse, radicalisation, exploitation and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images. It also warns that harmful content and image-based abuse are becoming increasingly normalised among children, disproportionately affecting girls.

The YJB says many children who engage in problematic online behaviour have complex needs or have experienced abuse themselves. Weak platform design and limited digital literacy among adults can increase children’s vulnerability and make safeguarding more difficult.

The report calls for responses that go beyond criminal justice. It identifies promising approaches, including safety-by-design and teen-by-default platform measures, early intervention, harm-reduction responses, digital media and gaming literacy, healthy relationships education and gender-sensitive programmes.

The YJB also highlights strength-based interventions that promote belonging, critical thinking and positive identity building for children. It says such approaches can help reduce harm while avoiding unnecessary criminalisation.

The publication comes as the UK implements the Online Safety Act and prepares to ban social media for under-16s by spring 2027. The YJB said protecting children will require coordinated action across education, health, policing, local government, housing and social care.

Why does it matter?

The report strengthens the case for treating online harms as a safeguarding and public policy issue, not only a matter for platforms or the police. It shows that children can be victims, perpetrators and vulnerable participants in the same digital environments, especially where abuse, exploitation, misogyny or harmful content are normalised. The YJB’s focus on prevention and early support is important because punitive responses can deepen children’s contact with the justice system without addressing the underlying risks.

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