Figures show that in the year to April 2019, there were 4,373 offences recorded of sexual communication with a child – an offence came into force on April 2017 – compared with 3,217 in the previous year.
The data, obtained from 43 police forces across England and Wales under Freedom of Information laws, also revealed that where age was provided, one in five victims were aged just 11 or younger.
Last year, the number of recorded instances of the use of Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, was more than double that of the previous year.
In one case, Freya, a 12-year-old whose name has been changed to protect her identity, was staying at a friend’s house when a stranger bombarded her Instagram account with sexual messages and videos.
Her mother told the NSPCC: “She was quiet and seemed on edge when she came home the next day. I noticed her shaking and knew there was something wrong so encouraged her to tell me what the problem was.
“When she showed me the messages, I just felt sick. It was such a violation and he was so persistent. He knew she was 12, but he kept bombarding her with texts and explicit videos and images.
“Freya* didn’t even understand what she was looking at. There were pages and pages of messages, he just didn’t give up.”
Overall in the last two years, Facebook-owned apps (Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp) and Snapchat were used in more than 70 per cent of the instances where police recorded the communication method, with Instagram being used in more than a quarter of cases.
The NSPCC is now calling on Boris Johnson’s government to draw up a draft Online Harms Bill, which would introduce independent regulation of social networks, with tough sanctions if they fail to keep children safe on their platforms – as a matter of urgency.
Peter Wanless, NSPCC chief executive, said: “It’s now clearer than ever that government has no time to lose in getting tough on these tech firms. Despite the huge amount of pressure that social networks have come under to put basic protections in place, children are being groomed and abused on their platforms every single day.”
UK news in pictures
Show all 50
UK news in pictures
11 December 2020
People take pictures of a new street artwork entitled ‘Aachoo!!’ by Banksy in Totterdown, Bristol
Reuters
UK news in pictures
10 December 2020
Wollaton Hall in Nottingham which has been transformed into an enchanted light experience to create Christmas at Wollaton Hall, a unique, socially distanced festive outdoor light installation
PA
UK news in pictures
9 December 2020
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson adjusts his face mask as he meets European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels
Reuters
UK news in pictures
8 December 2020
Margaret Keenan, 90, is applauded by staff as she returns to her ward after becoming the first person to receive the Pfizer-BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine at University Hospital in Coventry
AFP via Getty
UK news in pictures
7 December 2020
Amanda McGurk (left) and Cara McCann outside Belfast City Hall after becoming the first couple in Belfast to convert their civil partnership into a marriage. From today same-sex couples across Northern Ireland are able to marry through the official conversion of existing civil partnerships following a change in the law
PA
UK news in pictures
6 December 2020
Shoppers on Oxford Street in London on the first weekend following the end of the second national lockdown in England
PA
UK news in pictures
5 December 2020
Swimmers wearing fancy dress take to the water for a charity ‘fancy dress chilly dip’ swim in the sea at Leasowe Bay, northwest England. The event was held to raise money for the Age UK charity and involved participants from an open water swimming club
AFP via Getty Images
UK news in pictures
4 December 2020
The sun sets behind the Palace of Westminster, the home of the Houses of Parliament in central London
AFP via Getty
UK news in pictures
3 December 2020
The finishing touches are put to a 40ft Christmas Tree at Somerset House in London
PA
UK news in pictures
2 December 2020
A swimmer takes to the water at Serpentine Swimming Club after the second national lockdown ends in England. A strengthened tiered system of restrictions has been introduced
PA
UK news in pictures
1 December 2020
Artic Fox, Flo, investigates a stocking of treats in her enclosure as part of a Christmas enrichment programme at the wildlife conservation charity Wildwood Trust in Herne Bay, Kent
PA
UK news in pictures
30 November 2020
A man carrying a Christmas tree walks past a mural depicting a Saltire design in Leith, Edinburgh on St Andrew’s Day
PA
UK news in pictures
29 November 2020
Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Leander Dendoncker warms up before the Premier League match against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, London
PA
UK news in pictures
28 November 2020
Police officers wearing a protective face coverings speak with a protester during an anti-lockdown protest against government restrictions designed to control or mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus, on Regents Street in London
AFP via Getty
UK news in pictures
27 November 2020
Protesters from Peta animal rights group demonstrates against fox hunting in Westminster
PA
UK news in pictures
26 November 2020
A billboard displays a Manchester City Council message about the city’s Covid alert level
AFP via Getty
UK news in pictures
25 November 2020
Chancellor Rishi Sunak visits the Imperial Clinic Research Facility at Hammersmith Hospital in London
Getty
UK news in pictures
24 November 2020
Freight lorries queueing along the M20 in Kent waiting to access the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone
PA
UK news in pictures
23 November 2020
A palette of changing colours as the sky lights up before sunrise at St Mary’s Lighthouse in Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear on the North East coast
PA
UK news in pictures
22 November 2020
Daniil Medvedev poses with trophy after winning the singles final during day eight of the ATP Finals at The O2 Arena, London
PA
UK news in pictures
21 November 2020
Members of the public walk through the city centre on the first day of tier four coronavirus restrictions in Stirling, Scotland. Over two million people in the West of Scotland are now living under the country’s toughest level of coronavirus restrictions, following the rules coming into place at 18:00 yesterday seeing the closure of non-essential shops must close, as well as pubs, restaurants, hairdressers, gyms and visitor attractions
Getty Images
UK news in pictures
20 November 2020
The bronze statues of John and Cecil Moores, founders of the Littlewoods company, in Liverpool, with face masks on them as England continues a four week national lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus
PA
UK news in pictures
19 November 2020
James Stunt arrives at Southwark Crown Court in London to give evidence in the trial of Justinas Ivaskevicius, 34, who is accused of stealing a 16.18-carat fancy yellow diamond from 38-year-old Stunt’s substantial Belgravia mews
PA
UK news in pictures
18 November 2020
UK PARLIAMENT/AFP via Getty Imag
UK news in pictures
17 November 2020
People gather on the the Comedy Carpet in front of the Blackpool Tower waiting for the funeral cortege of entertainer Bobby Ball to pass on its way to Carleton Crematorium in Blackpool
PA
UK news in pictures
16 November 2020
Shipping companies and retailers have complained of delays in unloading arriving freight, with one ship told it could wait up to 10 days for a berthing slot
Getty
UK news in pictures
15 November 2020
Rainbow over Gwrych Castle in Abergele, North Wales, where the new series of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! is taking place
PA
UK news in pictures
14 November 2020
Hindu monks set up Diya lamps at the BAPS Neasden Temple, London, on this morning of Diwali
BAPS Media
UK news in pictures
13 November 2020
Dominic Cummings, special advisor for Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street
Reuters
UK news in pictures
12 November 2020
A surfer silhouetted against the waves at Tynemouth, near North Shields
PA
UK news in pictures
11 November 2020
People walk past the Tommy statue, officially named 1101, on Terrace Green by the seafront in Seaham, County Durham, on the anniversary of Armistice Day. Across the UK people fell silent in remembrance of the nation’s war dead, as the coronavirus pandemic limits public commemorations
PA
UK news in pictures
10 November 2020
Number 10 special advisor Dominic Cummings waits to be admitted to 10 Downing Street in London
AFP via Getty
UK news in pictures
9 November 2020
A mural of the president of the United States, Donald Trump which has been painted on the side of Islington Mill arts hub in Salford, Manchester
PA
UK news in pictures
8 November 2020
Chelsea pensioners watch a Remembrance Sunday service from their windows at the Royal Hospital Chelsea
Reuters
UK news in pictures
7 November 2020
D-Day veteran Jim Healy, 95, from Manchester who is taking part in the Royal British Legion’s doorstep silence for Remembrance. Jim was a Corporal in the Royal Marines and was coxswain of a landing craft assault on June 6, 1944 and will observe the Two Minutes Silence on Sunday by standing on his doorstep
PA
UK news in pictures
6 November 2020
The sunrises over woodland in Ashford, Kent
PA
UK news in pictures
5 November 2020
Two men walk over a nearly deserted Westminster Bridge, in foggy conditions, at the start of a four week national lockdown for England
PA
UK news in pictures
4 November 2020
Laura Martindale, manager of The Rocket public house in Whiston, pours away spoilt beer that has gone off after the pub was placed into tier three and now faces a four week lockdown ahead of a national lockdown for England
PA
UK news in pictures
3 November 2020
An oast house surrounded by autumn colours in the morning sunshine near Hawkhurst in Kent
PA
UK news in pictures
2 November 2020
Large waves crash over the harbour wall in Newhaven, East Sussex, during strong winds
PA
UK news in pictures
1 November 2020
Shoppers queue outside Ikea in Batley, West Yorkshire, after Boris Johnson announced a new national lockdown will come into force in England next week
PA
UK news in pictures
31 October 2020
Boris Johnson announces new restrictions in No 10
Getty
UK news in pictures
30 October 2020
The hallway of the Halloween house of Conor Pilkington (centre), 23, from Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, who has gone all out this year with his Halloween display. Conor has spent an extra £5000 to make it extra special due to the covid pandemic
PA
UK news in pictures
29 October 2020
Chief of Defence Staff General Sir Nick Carter (centre) joining members of all three armed services, in Waterloo Station, London, to support the Royal British Legions Poppy Appeal by collecting donations and selling poppies on London Poppy Day
PA
UK news in pictures
28 October 2020
Surfers take to high waves caused by Atlantic swells in Mullaghmore in Co Sligo
PA
UK news in pictures
27 October 2020
A rare giant Japanese spider crab is moved into the sale room during a preview of the forthcoming Evolution Sale at Summers Place Auctions, Billinghurst, West Sussex
PA
UK news in pictures
Felixstowe Port Congested Amid Brexit Stockpiling And Pandemic Pressures
Getty
UK news in pictures
26 October 2020
A television crew prepare to do a live transmission opposite the Nave Andromeda, an oil tanker berthed at Southampton docks, southwest England. British soldiers yesterday boarded the tanker and detained seven suspects, the defence ministry said, after the crew were forced to take shelter from stowaways who threatened them
AFP via Getty
UK news in pictures
25 October 2020
Staff from British Divers Marine Life Rescue and Tynemouth Aquarium release three seal pups at St Mary’s Lighthouse in Whitley Bay. They were rescued after being found abandoned on the North East coast
PA
UK news in pictures
24 October 2020
Edinburgh University students protest against the false promise of ‘hybrid learning’ to new and returning students during the Covid-19 pandemic in Edinburgh, Scotland. The protest was organised to enable the students to show their anger and disappointment to the University of Edinburgh, after the students felt they were misled after they returned to find the vast majority of their lectures and contacts were all online
Getty Images
He added: “These figures are yet more evidence that social networks simply won’t act unless they are forced to by law. The government needs to stand firm and bring in regulation without delay.”
A government spokesperson said: “Grooming children online is a sickening crime and the government is committed to stamping it out.
“We have taken strong action to tackle this vile abuse, from developing AI tools to identify and block grooming conversations to our Online Harms white paper, which will place a legal duty of care on social media companies to protect their users.”