Charity helps Rotherham people stop looking at child porn

MORE than 20 people in Rotherham have sought a charity’s help in the past year to help them stop looking at child pornography.
A still from one of Stop it Now!'s awareness videos.A still from one of Stop it Now!'s awareness videos.
A still from one of Stop it Now!'s awareness videos.

The 24 were were among nearly 600 internet users from South Yorkshire who visited the Stop it Now! Get Help website in the last 12 months to access online help to stop either their own viewing of online sexual images of children, or that of a loved one.

The county-wide figure is up 63 per cent on the previous year.

A further 11 men from South Yorkshire called the confidential Stop it Now! Helpline over the same period to get help to stop viewing sexual images of children online, while eight called to express concerns over the online behaviour of another adult. 

The helpline offers anonymous, effective support for those worried about their own online sexual behaviour, or someone else’s. 

The website at www.get-help.stopitnow.org.uk is operated by Stop it Now!, a sexual abuse prevention campaign run by child protection charity, the Lucy Faithfull Foundation.  

It aims to offer self-help tools and resources to help users address their behaviour and stop looking at online sexual images of children, as well as information and support for partners and friends of people arrested for, or suspected of, accessing online child abuse images.

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.

In 2013 the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) estimated that as many as 50,000 individuals in the UKwere involved in downloading or sharing sexual images of children. 

But in a BBC TV interview in October 2016, National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) Lead for Child Protection, Chief Constable Simon Bailey, said that at least 100,000 people in the UK were now regularly viewing online sexual images of children.

Tom Squire, Clinical Manager at child protection charity, The Lucy Faithfull Foundation, said: “Stop it Now! has worked with hundreds of men arrested for viewing sexual images of children.

“For many, being arrested was a real wake-up call. Many knew what they were doing was wrong, but had little idea about how to stop. 

“That's where our work comes in. The first thing we do is to make sure these men understand the harm they have caused the children in these images, and also the serious consequences for them and their families if they don’t get to grips with their online behaviour. 

“Once they understand this, they become far less likely to reoffend.

 

“There are still thousands of men out there viewing sexual images of under 18s. 

“We need to get to them too, to help them understand what they are doing is illegal and incredibly harmful — and to get them to stop. 

“Both our helpline and website can provide support and information on how to stop. 

“They are both confidential and can be used anonymously.”

The Stop it Now! public awareness campaign has a series of films spelling out the law on abuse images and the consequences of viewing them, which you can watch on their YouTube channel.

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