With the conviction of former BBC presenter Huw Edwards for making indecent images of children, Childlight say this is “far from unusual” and we are in a “hidden pandemic” of abuse.

Responding to the conviction, Childlight, the global child safety institute based at the University of Edinburgh, called for a new approach to curb sexual exploitation and abuse.

Childlight COO Zoe Lambourne said: “Tragically for children, the Huw Edwards case is far from unusual. We’re in the grip of a hidden pandemic, with an estimated 1.8 million UK people involved in sexually abusing and exploiting children online.

“This public health emergency is too big for law enforcement to counter alone but crucially, it is preventable through joint action to ensure child safety is always paramount.”

Childlight recently produced the first global estimate of the extent of online child sexual exploitation and abuse.

The report on the global extent of child sexual exploitation and abuse can be found here – Childlight Into the Light

It estimates that 7% of men in the UK report that they have engaged in online behaviours at some point in their lifetime that could be classed as online child sexual abuse offending

The report also indicates that more than 300 million children annually fall victim, equivalent to around 10 children every second.