Northern Ireland reports a rise of online sexual abuse in children during COVID-19

Police Service of Northern Ireland’s public protection branch have said that due to COVID-19 children are at a greater risk of online sexual abuse. Police have observed an increase in online grooming and people accessing child sexual images online. Police are now supporting a campaign run by the Stop it Now project. In 2019, 1460 people have contacted the Stop it now project from Northern Ireland. Det Ch Supt Anthony McNally shared ‘The purpose of this campaign is to raise awareness of those things and do all we can as a society to prevent crime and do what we can to keep people safe.’