IWF Annual Report 2022 #BehindTheScreens

In 2022, we discovered more Category A child sexual abuse material online than ever before. This material contains the most severe kinds of sexual abuse, more than doubling since 2020. 

Throughout 2022, our team of dedicated Analysts assessed 375,230 reports of suspected online child sexual abuse. Of these 255,588 reports were confirmed to contain child sexual abuse imagery. Each report could include one or hundreds of images and videos. 

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Watch our 2022 Annual Report Snapshot

Key findings from our 2022 Annual Report show:

• In 2022, the IWF investigated a total of 375,230 reports suspected to contain child sexual abuse imagery - an increase of 4% on 2021. 
• Of these, 255,588 reports were confirmed to contain images or videos of children suffering sexual abuse. 
• This compares to 2021, when the IWF investigated 361,062 reports, 252,194 of which were confirmed as containing child sexual abuse imagery. 
• In 2022, 199,363 of the URLs the IWF confirmed as child sexual abuse material contained images and videos made and/or shared via an internet connected device with a camera, as opposed to an abuser being physically present in the room with the victim/s. Often, a child has been groomed, coerced and encouraged by someone interacting with the child online. The amount of this material has increased nine per cent compared to 2021.