The Ember project, funded by Safe Online, set out to explore how children and young people can be better supported to report online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA). From the outset, our ambition was to understand how young people currently access help, what barriers they experience, and what changes they believe would make reporting easier and more effective. By placing young people's voices at the centre of the project, we hoped to identify practical ways to increase reporting and, ultimately, improve outcomes for children affected by online harm.
Understanding the Challenge of Underreporting
We have known for some time that child sexual abuse and exploitation is significantly underreported, with many children and young people not seeking help because of a range of emotional, practical and systemic barriers. This creates a challenge not only for safeguarding but also for ensuring that children receive the support they need when they experience harm.
Listening Before Designing Solutions
When the Ember project began, the intention was to design a practical solution that would make it easier for young people to report concerns and access support. However, as we undertook our initial desk research, it became clear that there were important gaps in our understanding of what children and young people actually wanted from a reporting system. Rather than making assumptions about the solution, we recognised the need to first listen to those with lived experience and those the solution is intended to serve.
Engaging Young People Directly
In autumn 2025, we expanded the research programme to engage directly with children and young people aged 13–24. Using an age-appropriate online survey alongside online interviews, we gathered both quantitative and qualitative data to better understand their experiences, perceptions and preferences around recognising and reporting OCSEA.
About the Findings
The findings presented in this report are drawn from the survey strand of the research. While the survey is exploratory and not representative of all children and young people in the UK, it provides valuable insight into how young people understand online child sexual exploitation and abuse, what they believe should be reported, and the barriers that can prevent them from seeking help.
The Gap Between Recognition, Confidence and Action
The findings reveal an important gap between recognition, confidence and action. Although many participants could identify core forms of OCSEA and expressed clear views about what should be reported, awareness of OCSEA as a concept was uneven, confidence in recognising exploitation was often tentative, and a range of emotional and practical barriers continued to discourage reporting.
These insights have important implications for the design of future education, reporting pathways and support services, highlighting the importance of developing approaches that are genuinely shaped by young people's needs and experiences.
From Research to Practice
We hope you find the report both insightful and thought-provoking. While these findings mark an important milestone for the Ember project, they are only the beginning. The second phase of the project is now well underway as we work to translate this research into practice, using what we have learned from children and young people to inform the development of a practical, youth-centred reporting solution.
We look forward to sharing more as the project progresses and hope the findings contribute to the wider conversation about improving support and reporting pathways for children experiencing online child sexual exploitation and abuse.
