Stop It Now! Scotland raises concerns as schools close.
There are fears that social distancing measures to slow the spread of coronavirus could lead to heightened risk of child sexual abuse in Scotland.
The warning comes from Stop It Now! Scotland, a charity service that supports people who are worried about their sexual thoughts and behaviour towards children.
Figures show that 90% of children who experience sexual abuse are harmed by someone known to them, with the majority of abuse taking place in their family home or the home of the abuser.
With schools closing and the majority of children staying home, Stop It Now! says questions must be raised about how to ensure young people are protected from abuse.
Director Stuart Allardyce said: “With children staying at home more, family members need to be more vigilant for behaviours, from either a child or an adult, that suggest abuse is already taking place or where a potential offender is perhaps on the slippery slope to committing a crime.
“By opening our eyes to behaviour that is not quite right, and seeking advice, we can stop child sexual abuse before it happens. It is the responsibility of adults to seek help to keep children safe.
“We urge parents and carers to maintain their vigilance during this challenging time, in the knowledge that by knowing the facts around child sexual abuse and speaking to their children openly and honestly about safety messages, can make a real difference in protecting them from harm.”
Mr Allardyce also warned about a surge in visitors to internet pornography sites such as Pornhub since the coronavirus crisis began.
“Many of the people we work with start to look at indecent images of children as part of their adult pornography habit,” he said.
“As they become desensitised to extreme sexual content online many search out more concerning material including indecent images of children. We would urge anyone who is worried about their use of internet pornography, particularly if they are concerned about their increased risk of looking at indecent images of children to get in touch with us to seek help at the earliest possible opportunity.”
Stop It Now! Scotland offers support over the phone, via video call or by email to anyone who has worries or questions about child sexual abuse. Advice is available through its Upstream Project, where a range of self-help resources are also available.
