- News & Comment
-
Online Shop
Online Services
Looseleafs
Law Reports
Books and eBooks
-
CPD & Events
Webinars
- Authors
- About Family Law
- Contact
Children’s exposure to sexual messages, violence and harmful online content has been highlighted by new Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures, with the findings raising significant safeguarding considerations for professionals working with children and families.
The Children’s Crime Survey for England and Wales estimated that 12% of children aged 13 to 15 received at least one sexual message during the year ending February 2026. Girls were slightly more likely to report receiving such messages than boys, at 13% compared with 10%.
Among those who received sexual messages, 25% received them more than 10 times, while 19% received messages from adults aged 18 or over.
The findings provide a further indication of the range of risks children may encounter online and the importance of identifying and responding to those risks as part of wider safeguarding work. The survey does not, however, establish whether individual children were subjected to abuse or exploitation as a result of receiving the messages.
The survey also found widespread exposure to violence in children’s everyday lives. Some 69% of children aged 10 to 15 had seen or heard about a fight or other physical violence between their peers during the previous 12 months.
Concerns about gangs and weapons were also reported. One in five children (20%) believed they were very or quite likely to see people involved in gangs in their local area, while 9% were worried a lot or a fair amount about gangs.
A quarter of children (25%) thought it was very or quite likely that people carried weapons in their local area, with 15% reporting that they were worried a lot or a fair amount about people carrying weapons.
The survey estimated that 1% of children aged 10 to 15 had carried a weapon during the previous year. The proportion was higher among boys, at 1.1%, compared with 0.4% of girls.
Online exposure to violent or criminal content was also common. Some 37% of children aged 10 to 15 had seen such material during the previous year, with fights or other physical violence the most frequently reported type, seen by 34%.
Among children aged 13 to 15, 48% had seen a lot or a fair amount of hateful content online targeted at people with certain characteristics. Some 15% had seen a lot or a fair amount of sexual content online.
Boys were more likely than girls to report having searched for sexual content, at 18% compared with 11%.
For family-law and safeguarding practitioners, the findings highlight the breadth of risks and harmful experiences that may form part of the environment in which children are living. They also demonstrate the importance of considering children’s online experiences alongside risks within their peer groups and local communities when assessing their welfare and safety.
The figures come from the redesigned Children’s Crime Survey for England and Wales, an online survey of children aged 10 to 15. The ONS describes the figures as official statistics in development.
To read the survey in full, click here.
