A CHARITY has claimed more needs to be done to protect girls online as new figures suggest they are the victim of most online grooming crimes in Cheshire.

The NSPCC, who obtained the information through a Freedom of Information request, is calling on new culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, to strengthen proposals in the draft Online Safety Bill to ensure girls are properly protected from online sexual abuse nationally.

The data shows Cheshire Constabulary recorded 129 offences in which an adult engaged in sexual communication with a child under 16 between July 2020 and March.

The gender of the victim was recorded in 98 crimes – 85 of whom were female, and 13 male.

The data also shows that where the age of the female victim was recorded, 52 were aged between 12 and 15, and 26 under 11.

The offence of sexual communication with a child, which was introduced in 2017 in England and Wales, refers to crimes committed online as well as in-person or via text message.

However, the NSPCC estimates more than 95% of such offences are committed via the internet.

A Cheshire Police spokesperson said: “Our digital media investigation unit is dedicated to investigating online crime, and this sadly includes the grooming of children online.

“We work with the national Crime Agency’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection team (CEOP) to relentlessly track down those intent of exploiting children.

“Parents also have an important role to help prevent this type of crime. I would encourage parents to think about what their children do online.

“The internet is a really valuable tool and can help many people in many ways but there is a darker side and it can potentially be a dangerous place.

“Children can become victims of abuse on the internet through online games, social networking sites and apps such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, which they can access through devices including tablets, mobile phones and games consoles.

"As a force we regularly go into schools to speak directly to children about the dangers and the darker side of using the internet.

“It is therefore imperative parents are also aware of these dangers and the sites their children are accessing as well as who they are communicating with.”

A CHARITY have claimed more needs to be done to protect girls online as new figures suggest they are the victim of most online grooming crimes in Cheshire.

The NSPCC, who obtained the information through a Freedom of Information request, is calling on new Culture Secretary, Nadine Dorries, to strengthen proposals in the draft Online Safety Bill to ensure girls are properly protected from online sexual abuse nationally.

The data shows Cheshire Constabulary recorded 129 offences in which an adult engaged in sexual communication with a child under 16 between July 2020 and March.

The gender of the victim was recorded in 98 crimes – 85 of whom were female, and 13 male.

The data also shows that where the age of the female victim was recorded, 52 were aged between 12 and 15, and 26 under 11.

The offence of sexual communication with a child, which was introduced in 2017 in England and Wales, refers to crimes committed online as well as in-person or via text message.

However, the NSPCC estimates more than 95% of such offences are committed via the internet.

Across England and Wales, there were 12,944 recorded offences where the gender was known between April 2017 and March 2021, with 10,722 (83%) of those recording the victim as female.

The NSPCC is calling on the Government to act to ensure it lives up to its previously stated ambition of making the UK the safest place in the world for a child to be online.

It said the Online Safety Bill, currently being examined by MPs and peers, must be strengthened to stop grooming and abuse spreading between apps, disrupt abuse at the earliest possible stage and hold senior managers to account.

Anna Edmundson, head of policy, said: “Any child can be a victim of online sexual abuse but the sheer number of girls being targeted is both alarming and a reminder of the failure of platforms to effectively protect their young users.

“One of the primary functions of the Online Safety Bill is to keep all children – including girls – safe when they go online.

“Now, the new Culture Secretary has the opportunity to fix the substantive weaknesses in the legislation so it does just that.”

The government said social media companies needed to clamp down on child abuse content and prevent young people from being groomed.

A government spokesman said: “Our new laws will be the most comprehensive in the world in protecting children online.

“Failing firms will face hefty fines or have their sites blocked, and we will have the power to make senior managers criminally liable for failing to protect children.”

A Cheshire Police spokesperson said: “Our digital media investigation unit is dedicated to investigating online crime, and this sadly includes the grooming of children online.

“We work with the national Crime Agency’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection team (CEOP) to relentlessly track down those intent of exploiting children.

“Parents also have an important role to help prevent this type of crime. I would encourage parents to think about what their children do online.

“The internet is a really valuable tool and can help many people in many ways but there is a darker side and it can potentially be a dangerous place.

“Children can become victims of abuse on the internet through online games, social networking sites and apps such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, which they can access through devices including tablets, mobile phones and games consoles.

"As a force we regularly go into schools to speak directly to children about the dangers and the darker side of using the internet.

“It is therefore imperative parents are also aware of these dangers and the sites their children are accessing as well as who they are communicating with.”

To help protect children while they're online, follow these steps:

•             Encourage them to talk to you about how they use the internet and show you what they do - make sure they know they can come to you for advice

•             Have an agreement in place and set boundaries for their internet use, such as when and where they can use their devices and for how long

•             Check age ratings that come with games, apps, films and social networks to confirm whether they’re suitable

•             Activate parental controls on your home network and all devices including mobile phones and game consoles

•             Safe settings can also be activated on sites such as Google, YouTube and iPlayer get to grips with the blocking and report functions on any gaming sites and make sure they know how to use them too

•             Make sure they're aware of the risks of sharing images online and that you both know how to remove content should you need to

More help and advice is available here: www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre/