Towards the end of last week and throughout the weekend, there has been considerable media focus on the issue of child sexual abuse and exploitation, particularly group-based child sexual exploitation , and the steps being taken to combat this deeply disturbing criminal activity.

You may have seen that as we welcomed the New Year, I shared a blog post about the opportunities I foresee in 2025. My key takeaways included:

• The critical role of data, emphasizing the importance of shaping policy and investigative strategies based on facts, rather than what we might hear or read in the media.

• The need to understand and define what justice means for the victims of child sexual abuse and exploitation.

• The importance of collaborating with partners and stakeholders, adopting a whole system approach to ensure that our goals and objectives are aligned.

These points have never been more relevant, given the current media coverage and the spread of misinformation regarding the scale and nature of group-based crimes.

In November 2024, the CSE Taskforce shared the Group-Based Offending Publication, which analysed police reported data. It provides the clearest picture yet of the scale, nature, and threat of reported group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation in 2023. The report makes it clear that group-based offending occurs in various forms, in diverse settings, and across different ethnicities. While media coverage often focuses on specific communities and so-called grooming gangs, it is crucial for law enforcement and their partners to respond forcefully to this type of crime in all its forms, regardless of media coverage.

We must always return to the data, maintaining a balanced approach to addressing the threat in all its forms. Children are at risk from perpetrators of all races, ethnicities, and genders. Following the final report from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, policing and other institutions responsible for safeguarding vulnerable children have acknowledged past failures and committed to change—and we are following through on these pledges.

Finally, and most importantly, we must remember that at the heart of everything we do are victims and survivors . Every statistic and every headline represents a person who has endured unimaginable abuse and exploitation. Their voices must be heard, and their experiences must shape our strategies and policies as we move forward, fully dedicated to change, education, and progress.

To read my 2025 blog visit: Aspirations for 2025

To read more about the Group-Based Offending data visit: Group-Based Offending Publication