Coronavirus: '2m English children face
heightened lockdown risk of abuse'
Around two million children in England face a range of vulnerabilities likely to worsen during the Covid-19 crisis, says the Children's Commissioner.
A report for her office has mapped out, by local area, the vast challenges faced by the schools and councils supporting them in lockdown.
The risks range from mentally ill parents and substance abuse, to cramped housing and domestic abuse.
The government said vulnerable children were its first priority.
The Children's Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield, said the lockdown had removed many of the usual ways of identifying children at risk, and the scale of the challenge in keeping them safe was enormous.
'Huge efforts'
"We estimate that 2m children in England are in homes where there is either a problem with drug or alcohol abuse, domestic violence or serious mental health problems," she said.
"There are also 128,000 children living in temporary accommodation, nearly 200,000 children referred to social services but not getting help, and 100,000 children caring for other family members."
She praised the huge efforts many teachers and council social care staff are making to stay in touch with struggling children.
But she highlighted how only a small proportion of those at-risk children were attending the schools being kept open to support them: "Reaching out to these children and helping them during the lockdown - and beyond - must be a priority for national and local government."
Earlier this week, Department for Education figures showed only a maximum of 5% of vulnerable children - which includes those with severe special educational needs - were attending school over the past few weeks.
Regular checks
Ms Longfield added that the figures lay bare the extent of vulnerability in each area, and the extraordinary pressures on some councils to try to protect these children.
Children's Society head of policy and research, Sam Royston, said existing risks in these children's lives may be worsened and they may be exposed to new dangers, including everything from being groomed online for sexual abuse to county lines exploitation.
Mr Royston argued that all vulnerable children should have a named professional to whom they could turn: "This should be someone who can check regularly that they are safe, whom they can ask for help and who can ensure they have opportunities to learn from home."
'First priority'
The Department for Education announced it was investing £12m on 14 projects around England to tackle the increased risk that children and young people may be facing from staying at home.
Children's minister Vicky Ford said the care and safety of vulnerable children was her priority. "We are working hand-in-hand with all the professionals supporting these children, to prioritise their wellbeing during this unprecedented time," she said.
The DfE has also already announced an extra £3.2bn for increased demand on local authorities during the crisis, but this comes after a systematic policy to reduce their funding by 40% over the past few years.
The Children's Commissioner called for more effort to get children into school and an expansion of the numbers of those working with children, as well as a temporary increase in child benefit and better accommodation for homeless families.
UK police lockdown warning after arresting suspects over alleged child abuse
By Simon WaltonHead of News and Digital Content
North Yorkshire Police
POLICE have issued a lockdown warning after arresting a string of suspects in connection with alleged child abuse.
North Yorkshire Police said that during the past few weeks officers from the Online Abuse & Exploitation Team - supported by the Digital Forensics Unit – have conducted a series of operations resulting in six arrests for various alleged crimes.
These range from sexual activity with a child and sexual communications with a child, to offences related to the possession, distribution and creation of indecent images of children.
One arrest followed intelligence that a man from York had allegedly been engaging in sexual communications with a 12-year-old girl on messaging and video chat sites.
An operation was carried out on April 16 to arrest a suspect and seize digital devices for examination.
A 65-year-old man has been released on conditional bail and safeguarding measures have been put in place while the investigation continues.
Other police operations included:
On Tuesday, April 7, two men aged 21 and 20 were arrested in Norton, near Malton, on suspicion of sexual activity with an underage girl and taking, making and distributing indecent images of children.
Houses were searched and mobile phones and other devices were seized for examination. Following questioning the men were released on conditional bail while inquiries continue.
The alleged victim is receiving specialist support and safeguarding measures have been put in place.
On April 9, a 29-year-old man from Harrogate was arrested by the Online Abuse & Exploitation Team on suspicion of possessing indecent images of children and causing or inciting sexual activity with a child.
This action was taken on the back of information received from the National Crime Agency’s Child Exploitation Online Protection (CEOP) command regarding alleged criminal activity on a messaging site.
The man has been released on conditional bail while police inquiries continue.
Members of the team have also been involved in urgent safeguarding visits regarding two children, both aged under 12, who had made indecent images of themselves which they had posted online. They are receiving ongoing support to ensure they remain safe.
Detective Sergeant Steve Alderson, of the Online Abuse & Exploitation Team, said: “Child abusers might think they can get away with their sickening offending due to coronavirus social distancing rules, especially those targeting vulnerable young people who are currently spending even more time online.
“They would be greatly mistaken to believe this as our action across North Yorkshire and York in recent weeks has shown.
“If someone is involved in child abuse or child sexual exploitation offences, be it online or directly, they can expect a knock on the door from the police and they will be brought to justice.”
DS Alderson added: “We urge parents and carers to get up to speed about online safety and talk to young people about the dangers. There is a great deal of help and advice available to make this important task easier.
“We also urge victims not to suffer in silence. Please seek professional support from the police and our partner agencies. We are here to help you.”
To report suspected crimes involving indecent images of children and sexual exploitation contact North Yorkshire Police on 101. If you are in immediate danger, always dial 999 for an emergency response.
95 per cent jump in online child porn traffic;
NCPCR says apps to view child porn at Google Play store
By IANS
NEW DELHI: The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has taken cognizance of a research highlighting 95 per cent increase in online child porn traffic during the nationwide lockdown and sent notices to Google, WhatsApp and Twitter citing gaps on these platforms which make children vulnerable.
The NCPCR said in a statement that while conducting an independent inquiry on the availability of online Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), it noticed that the pornographic materials are accessible through the apps available on Google Play Store.
"By mere downloading these apps from the platform, the user can access such materials. This is enabling the reach/accessibility to such materials, and hence it is a serious matter," said the commission.
The NCPCR took cognizance of the research study of ICPF on CSAM in India, wherein it highlighted that the online child porn traffic from India has increased "by 95 per cent between March 24 and March 26, as compared to the average traffic before the lockdown."
The study also said that millions of pedophiles have migrated online, making the internet extremely unsafe for children.
In the notice to WhatsApp, the commission said while conducting the independent inquiry on the availability of online CSAM, it noticed that there are certain links available to join "encrypted WhatsApp groups" and "CSAM and pornographic materials are rampantly present" in these groups.
"The links to these encrypted WhatsApp groups were found to be propagated and available on the internet. Any user by merely following these links can join these 'encrypted WhatsApp groups' and can obtain the CSAM and pornographic materials through these group chats on their phones," the commission noted.
Further, there is also the possibility that the perpetrators are also present and active on these "encrypted WhatsApp groups", which makes children even more vulnerable.
In the notice to Twitter, the commission said that while conducting an independent inquiry, it noticed that there are encrypted WhatsApp groups and the CSAM is rampantly present in these groups.
The links to these groups were found to be propagated by various handles on Twitter. The commission is of the view that propagating links of these WhatsApp groups on Twitter handles is a serious matter.
"Further, it is seen that as per your standard terms and conditions, a person of 13 years and above is eligible to open an account on Twitter. If you are allowing children at the age of 13 to open an account, the commission is of the view that you can't allow the other users to publish or propagate pornographic material, links etc. on Twitter," read the notice to Twitter.
Excellent point!
The commission has sought more information from these tech giants latest by April 30, 2020.
Expect a commitment of cooperation and then a run-around for the next 30 years.
Korean arrested for pimping during coronavirus lockdown in Pampanga, PH
An hour-long chase ensues after a Korean national attempts to evade undercover cops who caught him pimping a woman in Angeles City
Jun A. MaligRappler.com
PAMPANGA, Philippines – What could have been a peaceful arrest turned into action movie-like scenes after a suspected Korean sex trafficker led police operatives to an hour-long chase.
According to a police report obtained by Rappler on Friday, April 25, the incident happened in the tourism districts of Barangay Anunas and Barangay Malabanias in Angeles City in the afternoon of April 21.
In a report submitted to Central Luzon police director Brigadier General Rhodel Sermonia, Regional Anti-Trafficking Task Group 3 (RATTG3) chief Lieutenant Colonel Ricardo Pangan said his unit received information that a Korean man identified as Younsu Na was engaged in pimping Filipino women.
RATTG3 got information that Na, a 44-year-old Angeles City resident, had been hiring young Filipino women for prostitution. He would transact with customers, mostly foreigners, and then deliver the victims to pre-agreed hotels or other locations.
The suspect was placed under surveillance. On April 21, with the help of a person who can speak Korean, an undercover operative was able to negotiate with the suspect to bring a woman in front of Golden Hotel located in Korean Town in Barangay Anunas.
Around 2 pm, the suspect arrived in his vehicle to “deliver” a 21-year-old Filipino woman to the undercover cop. The operative approached the suspect’s vehicle. After handing over the marked peso bills as payment, he signaled to his back-up colleagues.
The other RATTG3 operatives then surrounded the Korean suspect’s vehicle. But instead of giving himself up in peaceful manner, the suspect revved up the engine and fled.
“The back-up police officers tried to block the fleeing suspect but they failed to do so. Instead, they were [almost] hit and bumped by the fleeing suspect,” the police report stated.
The suspect sped off towards Barangay Malabanias and was pursued by police operatives. He was eventually cornered but he tried to back up and drive off, prompting operatives to shoot at his vehicle’s tires.
The Korean suspect then left his vehicle and fled on foot.
He was finally arrested after RATTG3 sought the help of the local police and barangay officials of Malabanias village.
The suspect and the trafficked woman were initially brought to the Regional Crime Laboratory in Camp Olivas in San Fernando, Pampanga for physical examination and later to the RATTG3 office for interrogation and documentation.
The suspect faced charges for violation of Republic Act No. 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 as amended by RA 10364 or the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012.
Na is also charged with resistance and disobedience to persons in authority and damage to property.
For being caught outside his place of residence, the Korean also violated enhanced community quarantine rules.
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