Kidshield Alarming Statistics

Perhaps 20 or 30 years ago the risk was just as high, we just didn't know about it,  but statistics have proven that the Internet has dramatically increased our children's exposure to paedophiles through their sheer ease of access.  

The Internet has also provided a 'voice' for paedophiles who, in the past operated singularly and without the luxury of communicating with other like minded individuals. Now they share pictures, video's and stories and only the power of parents and the educators can reduce the amount of children who fall victim to these foul individuals .

At Kidshield we believe that education is the key to prevention.

If you require help or advice, please refer to our Kidshield Get Advice Section

Who are your kids chatting to online?

Parental Control Software

Our top pick amongst the 25 tested by Kidshield  was Net Nanny which performed head and shoulders above other parental control software.  Net Nanny is more than an internet filter, it is peace of mind:

• easy to install

• easy to manage

• provides monitoring of Instant Messaging and Peer-to-Peer Networking and lots more

• costs less than an X-Box or PS2 game

• Did everything we asked and more!

You can purchase Net Nanny directly from the Kidshield Store

Nearly a third of young people have received unwanted sexual comment online or by text. Just 7% of parents know their child has been subjected to such material.  4.2 million websites contain indecent images 100,000 websites contain indecent images of children

Source: Ceop

Children and young people often place themselves at risk online by engaging in risky, cybersexual behaviour. These situations could have been prevented if young users had been sufficiently empowered to stay in control of their personal information online or recognise and take steps to protect themselves from risky engagement with suspicious contacts.  Source:  CEOPS

Research shows up to one in 12 of the eight million British children with internet access have gone on to meet someone in reality after they first made contact on the internet.

A spokeswoman for the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre said: 'There is phenomenal growth in social networking sites, and young people have been putting personal information there which could easily identify them.

'We don't want them to put that kind of information online - because where young people go online, so do paedophiles. 'We will be seeking new safety features from the website operators. It's not a question of closing them down, we're just trying to stay one step ahead of those who are going online to exploit children.'

Source:  CEOPS

In recent years, the Internet has become increasingly accessible to children and young people, both at home and in schools.  As of June 2006, 59% of UK adults have internet access in their home (source: Ofcom ) and 100% of UK schools have access as of January 2007.

9 out of 10 Molesters admitted to sexually molesting before they were arrested

The average paedophile molests 117 children before they are jailed for child offences

60pc of children have been exposed to online pornography

Latest reports from Childline state that 33% of contact related to mobile phone related bullying, and 16% to bullying online.

Recently published research has found that 15% of children and young people in the UK have received abusive or aggressive SMS messages or emails, and that there has been a year on year increase in the number of children who are being bullied using new technologies.  (Noret, 2007)

A massive police operation has uncovered an alleged paedophile ring based in Britain with more than 300 members worldwide, it has been revealed.The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop), based in London, coordinated a global undercover "sting" which pinpointed alleged key suspects in the UK.

Research shows that children are more likely to be sexually abused by someone they know including relatives, family friends and people in positions of trust than by a stranger.  Children do not always tell about abuse and abuse can continue for years.  Read the NSPCC Sexual Abuse Briefing, 2006

• In total 16% of children aged under 16 experienced sexual abuse during childhood. 11% of this was contact abuse and 6% was non-contact.
  (Cawson et al., 2000, Child Maltreatment in the UK: A Study of the Prevalence of Child Abuse and Neglect, NSPCC, p.85)
• 1% of children under 16 experienced sexual abuse by a parent or carer and another 3% by another relative during childhood.
  (Cawson et al., 2000, Child Maltreatment in the UK: A Study of the Prevalence of Child Abuse and Neglect, NSPCC, p.85)
• 11% of children under 16 experienced sexual abuse during childhood by people known but unrelated to them.
  (Cawson et al., 2000, Child Maltreatment in the UK: A Study of the Prevalence of Child Abuse and Neglect, NSPCC, p.86)
• 5% of children under 16 experienced sexual abuse during childhood by an adult stranger or someone they had just met.
  (Cawson et al., 2000, Child Maltreatment in the UK: A Study of the Prevalence of Child Abuse and Neglect, NSPCC, p.86)
• Three-quarters (72%) of sexually abused children did not tell anyone about the abuse at the time. 27% told someone later. Around a third (31%) still had not told anyone about their experience(s) by early adulthood.
  (Cawson et al., 2000, Child Maltreatment in the UK: A Study of the Prevalence of Child Abuse and Neglect, NSPCC, p.83)

If you require help or advice, please refer to our Kidshield Get Advice Section

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