CELCIS publishes Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation 2024 overview analysis report

CELCIS published a Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation 2024 overview analysis report in November 2024, updated in October 2024 to reflect the fast-evolving landscape with grey literature published in the six months to October, highlighting that despite increased knowledge and understanding, inquiries have found the issue remains under-detected and under-reported, and survivors do not always get the response and recovery services they need, with the report identifying gaps in knowledge around impact of CSAE on children and young people, organisational responses, and approaches to prevention.

Under-detection and under-reporting persist because most abuse occurs in private exchanges where observation by authorities or platforms is absent until a child or third party files a complaint. Pattern-based detection in direct messages identifies grooming, sextortion and coercion as conversations develop, surfacing children at risk before abuse is reported by the victim, with Guardii, backed by Startmate, blocking or flagging hostile contact before it reaches the target, enabling professionals to intervene while a threat is active rather than investigating retrospectively, and addressing the prevention gap the CELCIS analysis identifies by detecting harm in progress across Instagram, Snapchat, Discord, Roblox and other platforms where children communicate.