How British sexual predators are targeting children in poor Asian countries

Tens of thousands of British citizens who pose a sexual threat to children online are increasingly seeking out victims in poor and war-torn countries, the nation’s top law enforcement agency has said.

The Philippines has become recognised as a commercial hub for child abuse imagery and live streaming of child abuse for foreign buyers, and children in Kenya, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and other countries are also increasingly at risk as broadband access and free encrypted technology spreads across the world, the National Crime Agency (NCA) warned.

“There is an increasing threat to children in developing countries where safeguarding capabilities cannot keep pace with advancing technologies, and this threat is likely to grow,” said Rob Evans, an expert on the sexual exploitation of children online for the NCA.

“We estimated that 80,000 UK nationals pose a sexual threat to children online – and this is a conservative estimate. What we know about offending pathways leads us to conclude that there are significant risks that many of these individuals will be taking advantage of the ready availability of free end-to-end encrypted technologies and inciting abuse through live streaming.”

Evans said it was impossible to know the number of children potentially at risk, but added: “If there are tens of thousands of potential perpetrators here, then children in countries around the world will also be targeted by offenders from elsewhere – the US, Canada and across Europe.”