THE NUMBER of online child sexual abuse offences recorded in Wales have risen by 43 per cent in the past five years, according to new figures.

A total of 2,061 crimes involving the sharing and possession of indecent images of children took place across Wales in 2021/22, up from 1,437 in 2016/17.

Gwent Police recorded a 55 per cent rise across the five-year period, the NSPCC investigation revealed, with the number of offences increasing from 259 to 402.

Detective chief superintendent Nicky Brain, from Gwent Police, said: “Recorded offences of indecent images of children have risen nationally, and Gwent is no exception to this.

“We remain committed to supporting victims of all crimes and have invested in this area in order to adapt to the constant changing landscape of policing and the risk to children online criminals can have.

“We would urge anyone who believes they are a victim of crime to come forward in the knowledge that we will support them and treat them with care and respect.”

The NSPCC warned that unregulated social media was fuelling the rise in online child sexual abuse, with Snapchat used in 43 per cent of cases, while Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – which are all owned by Meta – were used in a third of instances where a site was flagged.

Virtual reality headsets were also now being used in recorded child sexual abuse crimes, the NSPCC found.

The charity said tech bosses were failing to stop their sites being used by offenders to organise, commit and share child sexual abuse, and called on the government to give children a voice by creating a statutory child safety advocate through the Online Safety Bill.

Holly – whose name has been changed to protect her identity – called Childline “sick with fear” when she was 14.

She said: “I was talking with this guy online and trusted him. I sent him quite a lot of nude pictures of myself and now he is threatening to send them to my friends and family unless I send him more nudes or pay him.

“I reported it to Instagram, but they still haven’t got back.

“I don’t want to tell the police because my parents would then know what I did and would be so disappointed.”

Sir Peter Wanless, chief executive of the NSPCC, said: “These new figures are incredibly alarming but reflect just the tip of the iceberg of what children are experiencing online.

“We hear from young people who feel powerless and let down as online sexual abuse risks becoming normalised for a generation of children.

“By creating a child safety advocate that stands up for children and families the Government can ensure the Online Safety Bill systemically prevents abuse.”

Gwent Police said any parents concerned about the issues in this article should visit thinkuknow.co.uk, which is a safeguarding arm of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command within the National Crime Agency, and provides practical and informative safeguarding material.

Parents can also visit parentsprotect.co.uk, which offers similar supportive material and is associated to the Lucy Faithful Foundation – which provides support for parents that have concerns related to keeping their children safe online, as well as offering support to those involved in online child sexual exploitation investigations.