Webcam sex abuse 'established reality', Mental health care 'insufficient for abused children'

Mental health care 'insufficient for abused children'
27 January 2016   UK
Nearly all health professionals believe there are not enough mental health services for children who have suffered sexual abuse, a survey has suggested.

The NSPCC surveyed 1,256 people in the UK, including psychologists, teachers, GPs and social workers, and 96% said there was insufficient help.

Just over half blamed waiting lists, and 78% said accessing help had become more difficult in the last five years.

The government says an extra £1.4bn is being spent to improve the situation.

NSPCC chief executive Peter Wanless said the situation "shames the nation" and called for better access to therapy.

The charity says abused children often have to develop chronic mental health problems, be suicidal or self-harming before services become available to them.

It found that in many cases children have to wait more than five months to get specialist support.... http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-35413456


Webcam sex abuse 'established reality' in the UK
By Angus Crawford BBC News  26 January 2016  UK
Paedophile Trevor Monk paid for the live streaming of child abuse from the Philippines and then travelled there to carry out the abuse himself. His case represents a growing problem of British men ordering abuse over the internet.

A webcam and an internet connection was all Monk needed to carry out a catalogue of abuse on children as young as eight years old.

Having arranged "facilitators" to co-ordinate from Manila, the 47-year-old transferred money in exchange for young girls performing sex acts in front of a computer.

Watching the live stream from his home in Erith, south-east London, Monk later went a step further and travelled to the Philippines where he abused at least nine young girls in person. He is also known to have travelled to Thailand.

Police and charities are concerned this type of abuse is a growing trend, made easier by the amount of untraceable messaging services now available.

Typically offenders like Monk use social media or live pornography sites to make contact - either with a family or a pimp.

They then pay as little as £15 via international transfer and are allowed to direct the abuse over the internet.

But this case also reveals just how much money can be involved. Over a four year period between 2010 and 2014 Monk paid out more than £14,000 to pay for what he called "shows", transferring the money in small amounts via Western Union....

Two years ago, I travelled to the Philippines to observe the effects of this global crime on the local population.
The BBC found in 2014 that the abuse took place in slum areas in the Philippines

I met children as young as five who had been sexually assaulted by their own parents - paid to do so by sex offenders in Europe.

During visits to slums in Cebu City in the south of the country, I saw that whole areas had been taken over by the trade.

Police took me to a house where children would be brought by their relatives to take part in the live streaming.

I was told that it had become "a cottage industry".... http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-35384504