0:00:02 > 0:00:07This programme contains scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09Today the Children's Commissioner has produced
0:00:09 > 0:00:12the most authoritative report yet of abuse in or around the family,
0:00:12 > 0:00:16where most child abuse occurs. Its results are horrifying.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19Tonight, we look at all the latest research to reveal
0:00:19 > 0:00:24the reality of a crime that seems to be out of control.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26Setting aside terrorism,
0:00:26 > 0:00:29it's the greatest challenge the police service faces this century.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33I'm a clinical psychologist.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35Listening to survivors of abuse
0:00:35 > 0:00:39exposes the sheer scale of the problem we face.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42I honestly thought it was something that happens in families,
0:00:42 > 0:00:43but no-one talks about.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46I thought every child... that happened to at night.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49I'm an investigative journalist.
0:00:49 > 0:00:55I've explored many high-profile cases of child sex abuse.
0:00:55 > 0:01:00Tonight, we focus on the hidden crimes against children of all ages.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03The abuse is anything that you can imagine -
0:01:03 > 0:01:06the majority in a family setting, in a family home.
0:01:06 > 0:01:11Maybe 10-12% of the adult population of the UK
0:01:11 > 0:01:13have occasional, if not frequent, sexual thoughts
0:01:13 > 0:01:15involving teenage children.
0:01:15 > 0:01:20We'll be using our different skills and the shocking new statistics
0:01:20 > 0:01:23to strip away the myths and to answer the key questions.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26How common is child sex abuse?
0:01:26 > 0:01:28How much goes unreported?
0:01:28 > 0:01:32Where and when does it happen? Who are the abusers?
0:01:32 > 0:01:35And, most of all, how can they be stopped?
0:01:46 > 0:01:49Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News At One -
0:01:49 > 0:01:51the mother of the missing five-year-old April Jones
0:01:51 > 0:01:54broke down in tears as she made an emotional plea this lunchtime.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59We are desperate for any news.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01April is only five years old.
0:02:01 > 0:02:06Please, please help find her.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11On 1st October 2012,
0:02:11 > 0:02:16five-year-old April Jones was abducted and murdered.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18It's like...
0:02:22 > 0:02:28How do you feel when your child is murdered?
0:02:28 > 0:02:31You've got to live the rest of your life
0:02:31 > 0:02:36knowing that you let your child out to play.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41Local man Mark Bridger took April
0:02:41 > 0:02:44as she played outside her home in mid-Wales.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47He was jailed for life.
0:02:47 > 0:02:48Now April's parents campaign
0:02:48 > 0:02:51for greater understanding of child sex abuse.
0:02:53 > 0:02:58When it happened with April, I wanted everybody locked away,
0:02:58 > 0:03:00killed, hung, you name it.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06But all you are doing then is locking everybody away
0:03:06 > 0:03:09that has done it - but if you can stop them
0:03:09 > 0:03:14before they do it, it's a lot safer for children and parents.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17People, they think, "Why should we help the paedophile?
0:03:17 > 0:03:20"We should be prosecuting them, throwing them in jail,
0:03:20 > 0:03:24"having them castrated," but if we offer help to paedophiles,
0:03:24 > 0:03:27we might save children who MIGHT have been abused.
0:03:27 > 0:03:32We want them to go and get help before they do the crime
0:03:32 > 0:03:34so it protects the children.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37- So this, for you, is about child protection.- Yes.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40We don't want to see other families going through this.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48Paul and Coral Jones have tried to put aside their anger and grief
0:03:48 > 0:03:52to find more effective ways of protecting children.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55The murder of children is extremely rare.
0:03:55 > 0:04:00But it is becoming more and more clear child sex abuse is not.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10Today's report from the Children's Commissioner combines statistics
0:04:10 > 0:04:14from police, social services and voluntary organisations.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16Its findings are chilling.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21The report reveals that, in England alone,
0:04:21 > 0:04:25in a two-year period between 2012 and 2014,
0:04:25 > 0:04:32an estimated 425,000 children and young people were sexually abused.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34That's almost half a million.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37These are shocking numbers, aren't they?
0:04:37 > 0:04:39They are shocking, they are awful.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41We found this level of data
0:04:41 > 0:04:44because, as part of my role as Children's Commissioner,
0:04:44 > 0:04:48I've got the powers to get the data from authorities
0:04:48 > 0:04:52with the names and the information behind that.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55We've been able to cross-correlate this
0:04:55 > 0:04:57so it is a critical assessment.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01It's also a very reliable number for us to work on.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07To put the figures in perspective,
0:05:07 > 0:05:11we have created what we might call Everytown -
0:05:11 > 0:05:15a typical English town of 100,000 people,
0:05:15 > 0:05:18roughly the size of Worcester, Mansfield or Lincoln.
0:05:20 > 0:05:25425,000 victims nationwide is equivalent,
0:05:25 > 0:05:30in a town like this, to almost 800 children -
0:05:30 > 0:05:32roughly one in every school class.
0:05:34 > 0:05:39But even more shocking is how much of this abuse remains hidden.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43The report estimates that just one in eight children who are abused
0:05:43 > 0:05:46come forward and report it.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48The voices of the rest go unheard.
0:05:51 > 0:05:57The vast majority of children experiencing this awful crime
0:05:57 > 0:06:00don't report so aren't getting help.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03They suffer in silence behind closed doors.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15I was scared every night.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19I used to go to bed and, you know, I used to wear layers and layers
0:06:19 > 0:06:23of clothes just so it would, you know, try and protect myself.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26- Yeah.- I would wrap myself up and try and cocoon myself
0:06:26 > 0:06:28because I was always scared that they would come in.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34Millie is 17. She was abused from the age of six.
0:06:34 > 0:06:39Her story sheds horrific light on why so few children report abuse.
0:06:40 > 0:06:45- Your mother's partner... - Yep.- ..was the abuser?- Yep.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48- And also your mother? - As well as my mum, yeah.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51He sort of put in the initial idea,
0:06:51 > 0:06:56but she was the controller, the manipulator,
0:06:56 > 0:06:58she would turn round and say, "Yes, we can do that," or, "We can't."
0:06:58 > 0:07:03She used to ask me, "Do you want to come into our room tonight?"
0:07:03 > 0:07:09And I would say yes cos I was too scared to say no.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13What would be the consequence if you'd said no?
0:07:13 > 0:07:16It would just be she didn't talk to me for weeks.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19I'd have to fend for myself.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22They never hit me. Well, my mum used to slap me,
0:07:22 > 0:07:24but he never hit me.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26It would just be hell to live there.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29She'd neglect you, she'd freeze you out?
0:07:29 > 0:07:33- Yeah. I wouldn't be in the family. I felt lower than the dog.- Right.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39Were you threatened or manipulated to not tell people?
0:07:39 > 0:07:40Yeah, it was something that...
0:07:40 > 0:07:43I honestly thought it was something that happens in families,
0:07:43 > 0:07:46but no-one talks about.
0:07:46 > 0:07:47Almost like it was trivial.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50- You thought it was kind of normal? - Yeah.- That this is what happened?
0:07:50 > 0:07:52Yeah, no-one told me any different.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54I didn't turn round and say anything
0:07:54 > 0:07:57because I thought every child... that happened to at night.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05For children, abuse by a family member
0:08:05 > 0:08:09or someone around the family environment
0:08:09 > 0:08:14puts into question who there is in the world that they can turn to.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18This is one of the reasons that children don't tell others.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21They need to be able to go to people they can trust,
0:08:21 > 0:08:24and if the harm's coming from that environment,
0:08:24 > 0:08:26they have nowhere to go.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32The statistics suggest that, of children who suffer sexual abuse,
0:08:32 > 0:08:36around two-thirds are abused either by someone in the family
0:08:36 > 0:08:38or by someone they know through the family.
0:08:42 > 0:08:47A survey of adult survivors of abuse within the family environment
0:08:47 > 0:08:49shows that many had more than one abuser.
0:08:49 > 0:08:54By far the most common was a male family friend or neighbour -
0:08:54 > 0:08:57identified by 40%.
0:08:57 > 0:09:0025% said they had been abused by their own father.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03Brothers, uncles, stepfathers
0:09:03 > 0:09:06and grandfathers were all high up on the list.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08And astonishingly, like Millie,
0:09:08 > 0:09:13almost 10% reported being abused by their own mother.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19Statistics show that women often abuse with a man.
0:09:19 > 0:09:25Many are bullied and coerced by that man, but not all.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28It wasn't the case that she was just following his lead,
0:09:28 > 0:09:31it sounds like she was actively leading him.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33- She wanted to do it as well. - Right.
0:09:33 > 0:09:38I felt like, "What is wrong with me to not get a real mum?
0:09:39 > 0:09:42"Why didn't I get a mum?"
0:09:44 > 0:09:47It's really upsetting to think that I felt...
0:09:47 > 0:09:51I didn't feel worthy of a mum.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57'Millie introduced me to her friend Cameron,
0:09:57 > 0:09:59'who she met through a local support service.'
0:10:02 > 0:10:07When I was ten, I was sexually abused by my dad for five years,
0:10:07 > 0:10:12till the age of 15 and... Yeah.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16Were you aware that what was happening wasn't right?
0:10:16 > 0:10:20I did want to say something to someone,
0:10:20 > 0:10:24but I thought, where it was my dad, maybe no-one would believe me.
0:10:24 > 0:10:25And what about your mum?
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Did you never think you'd be able to tell your mum?
0:10:27 > 0:10:30I weren't sure whether he'd hurt me or not.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32- Right, so there was fear.- Yeah.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38How did it stop? What happened?
0:10:38 > 0:10:41My mum actually walked in on what was happening
0:10:41 > 0:10:43and phoned the police.
0:10:44 > 0:10:49'Cameron's father went to prison for 15 months.'
0:10:49 > 0:10:54What stops boys particularly from talking about sexual abuse?
0:10:54 > 0:10:58I think, with boys and men, it's the pride
0:10:58 > 0:11:02cos men are seen as strong people who can get through anything
0:11:02 > 0:11:07and I think sometimes it can be if someone finds out,
0:11:07 > 0:11:13they'll call you gay and torment you for it.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15And did you have that experience?
0:11:15 > 0:11:18Yeah, in school, I actually told my best friend,
0:11:18 > 0:11:22or I thought he was and, a couple of weeks later,
0:11:22 > 0:11:23it was round the whole school
0:11:23 > 0:11:28and everyone was calling me gay and bullying me because of it.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38So this is art done by lads that you're working with here.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40The guys you are working with here.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42Yeah, over the past five or six years.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44So these are men who've been abused as children.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46Yes, yeah.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50'Duncan Craig runs a charity for male survivors of sexual abuse.'
0:11:53 > 0:11:56This one I think is probably the most shocking
0:11:56 > 0:12:00in terms of just the real power and depth of it.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04"I'll show you how to be a real man if you cry again.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06"Watch what I do to your mum."
0:12:08 > 0:12:11Do men under-report having been abused?
0:12:11 > 0:12:12Definitely, yeah.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16All the research that's out there proves that.
0:12:16 > 0:12:21A male seems to blame himself more than, in my experience, a female.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23"I should have been able to push him off,"
0:12:23 > 0:12:25"I should have been able to get rid of him,"
0:12:25 > 0:12:28"I should have been able to stop it,"
0:12:28 > 0:12:30and if you're dealing with something
0:12:30 > 0:12:34or you feel shameful about something, why would you speak out?
0:12:37 > 0:12:40Of children who report abuse,
0:12:40 > 0:12:42just over a quarter are male.
0:12:42 > 0:12:47Survivors Manchester's database suggests that, like girls,
0:12:47 > 0:12:51most boys under 16 are abused by someone they know.
0:12:51 > 0:12:56As with Cameron, it also suggests the abuse begins early.
0:12:57 > 0:13:03We're looking at a vast majority, in the 80-81%
0:13:03 > 0:13:07of men were abused under the age of 12.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09- So prepubescent.- Yeah.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13I often hear stories about men who we're working with,
0:13:13 > 0:13:16trying to think about when did it stop,
0:13:16 > 0:13:19and what it felt like to them
0:13:19 > 0:13:23was that they got too old for the abuser now.
0:13:23 > 0:13:28- Right.- So from kind of 12 or 13, suddenly now, "I'm too old."
0:13:28 > 0:13:31This graph shows the breakdown of the age
0:13:31 > 0:13:34when abuse happens in or around the family.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36It shows that around a third of abuse
0:13:36 > 0:13:40happens to children of 12 or older - mostly adolescents.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44But the biggest group is among children below the age of puberty.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47These are often the victims of a specific type of offender -
0:13:47 > 0:13:49the paedophile.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54The words "paedophile" and "child abuser"
0:13:54 > 0:13:57are often used interchangeably.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59But they are not always same thing.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01And understanding the difference
0:14:01 > 0:14:05is important for understanding - and preventing - child sex abuse.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11Michael, what's a clinical definition of a paedophile?
0:14:11 > 0:14:12Well, the clinical definition
0:14:12 > 0:14:15that most people who work in this area use
0:14:15 > 0:14:17is to describe someone who is sexually attracted
0:14:17 > 0:14:19to prepubescent children.
0:14:19 > 0:14:20So, this is a child
0:14:20 > 0:14:23who's not showing any signs of sexual development.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27How prevalent is paedophilia?
0:14:27 > 0:14:28I think a reasonable estimate
0:14:28 > 0:14:31for the general male population is around 1%.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33I base that on some recent surveys,
0:14:33 > 0:14:37large surveys done in Germany and in Scandinavia.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39My estimate includes men
0:14:39 > 0:14:42who are exclusively attracted to young children,
0:14:42 > 0:14:46but also men who are able to have relationships with adults as well,
0:14:46 > 0:14:49but they do have a significant interest in young children.
0:14:52 > 0:14:561% might sound like a small number,
0:14:56 > 0:14:59but, in the context of the whole population,
0:14:59 > 0:15:00it is an alarming figure.
0:15:01 > 0:15:06It would mean there are more than 250,000 -
0:15:06 > 0:15:10that's a quarter of a million - paedophiles in the UK.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14In our Everytown - population 100,000 -
0:15:14 > 0:15:16this would mean almost 400 men
0:15:16 > 0:15:18who have a persistent sexual attraction
0:15:18 > 0:15:22to prepubescent children, whether they act on it or not.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32I went to meet someone that we will call Mike.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40He has twice been convicted for downloading indecent images
0:15:40 > 0:15:41of children from the internet,
0:15:41 > 0:15:44although not for physical abuse of a child.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48'He has since undergone therapy.'
0:15:48 > 0:15:53It breaks my heart to know what I've done, it really does.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55Why?
0:15:55 > 0:15:59Because, every time you look at those images,
0:15:59 > 0:16:00you're abusing a child.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02The images you were looking at,
0:16:02 > 0:16:05they were images of attractive young children
0:16:05 > 0:16:07or sexual images of children?
0:16:07 > 0:16:10Both. I saw everything.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12So this includes children being raped, abused?
0:16:26 > 0:16:28Yeah.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31Is it nature or is it nurture?
0:16:31 > 0:16:32Is this how you're made,
0:16:32 > 0:16:40is this how you're wired or is it something that somehow you,
0:16:40 > 0:16:42through your early life experiences,
0:16:42 > 0:16:46your childhood, you became this person?
0:16:47 > 0:16:49I've got no experiences in my younger life
0:16:49 > 0:16:52that can point to anything to create this.
0:16:53 > 0:16:58The only thing I believe after long discussion with family, with friends
0:16:58 > 0:17:02is this must be natural, and I think it is for a lot of people.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13The question of whether people are born paedophiles is controversial.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15So, what does the science tell us?
0:17:17 > 0:17:22I travelled to Canada to meet psychologist Dr James Cantor,
0:17:22 > 0:17:25whose studies of paedophiles' brains have produced striking conclusions.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29Paedophilia is a sexual orientation.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31Paedophilia is something
0:17:31 > 0:17:33that we are essentially born with,
0:17:33 > 0:17:35does not appear to change over time
0:17:35 > 0:17:38and it's as core to our being as any other sexual orientation is.
0:17:38 > 0:17:43Tell me what it is it that you have been looking at in terms of the brain
0:17:43 > 0:17:45and the brain of the paedophile.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48In the brain, there is a sex network.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52We didn't find anything different in any one part of the brain,
0:17:52 > 0:17:55rather that we're seeing differences in how parts are cabled together.
0:17:55 > 0:18:00These green stripes going through the middle of the white areas,
0:18:00 > 0:18:02- those are the cables.- Right.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05This red part is the area of the cable
0:18:05 > 0:18:08that is different between the paedophiles and the non-paedophiles.
0:18:08 > 0:18:13It's very easy to think of this literally as a cross-wiring.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16It's as if, in these people, when they perceive a child,
0:18:16 > 0:18:18it's triggering the sexual instincts
0:18:18 > 0:18:20instead of triggering the nurturing instincts.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23So, how does this happen? What's gone on?
0:18:23 > 0:18:25We've been able to narrow it down a little bit
0:18:25 > 0:18:27by looking at other things
0:18:27 > 0:18:30that make paedophiles different from non-paedophiles.
0:18:30 > 0:18:31What we found are that paedophiles
0:18:31 > 0:18:34are more than three times more likely to be non-right-handed -
0:18:34 > 0:18:37that is paedophiles are more than three times as likely
0:18:37 > 0:18:39to be left-handed or ambidextrous.
0:18:39 > 0:18:40Another one of the things
0:18:40 > 0:18:42that turned out to be important was physical height.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46Paedophiles are about two-and-a-half centimetres too short.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49They're shorter than people who commit other kinds of offences.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54This doesn't mean left-handed and short people
0:18:54 > 0:18:57are significantly more likely to be paedophiles.
0:18:57 > 0:19:02But these features tend to be determined during early pregnancy.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04Could this be when paedophilia develops?
0:19:07 > 0:19:10One of the possibilities is that something very general
0:19:10 > 0:19:12has gone wrong, maternal stress,
0:19:12 > 0:19:15something we could treat with vitamins or better nutrition
0:19:15 > 0:19:17for women early in pregnancy.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21It would be wonderful if increasing the amount of prenatal care
0:19:21 > 0:19:23available to women cures both paedophilia -
0:19:23 > 0:19:25or at least prevents it from developing -
0:19:25 > 0:19:29at the same time as increasing the potential health for the kid.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34If paedophilia is hard-wired in the brain,
0:19:34 > 0:19:38that would mean that paedophiles are fundamentally incurable.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42But there is another leading Canadian researcher
0:19:42 > 0:19:44who completely disagrees.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47Do you all consider yourself as paedophiles?
0:19:47 > 0:19:51Is that how you would describe yourself?
0:19:51 > 0:19:52- No.- Not any more?
0:19:53 > 0:19:58'Dr Paul Fedoroff claims to be able to cure paedophilia,
0:19:58 > 0:20:01'using therapy and anti-androgen drugs
0:20:01 > 0:20:03'that temporarily remove the sex drive.'
0:20:05 > 0:20:09We take sex off the table and we give them
0:20:09 > 0:20:12a chance then to develop healthy lifestyles.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16Get a job and establish a relationship with someone
0:20:16 > 0:20:21who's consensual and so forth that's not primarily based on sex.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23And once they're in that situation,
0:20:23 > 0:20:28then we stop the anti-androgens, that their sex drive comes back.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32And it turns out that if it develops in a normal healthy relationship,
0:20:32 > 0:20:37they start to have sexual activities with their partner,
0:20:37 > 0:20:40which they both enjoy.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44So you stop the medication, they regain their sex drive
0:20:44 > 0:20:48and almost, hey presto, they're now attracted to the adult partner
0:20:48 > 0:20:52and no longer attracted to children, is that right?
0:20:52 > 0:20:55Right, their preference changes to adult.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59And that's what you would say is then that they are cured?
0:20:59 > 0:21:01Right, wouldn't you?
0:21:01 > 0:21:03'It's a remarkable claim.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07'I wanted to test it by talking to one of Dr Fedoroff's patients -
0:21:07 > 0:21:10'a man recently released from prison.'
0:21:11 > 0:21:16Would it be OK for you to tell me what your crime was?
0:21:16 > 0:21:19I molested my two daughters.
0:21:20 > 0:21:25Dr Fedoroff's programme was a real eye-opener.
0:21:25 > 0:21:31The fact that, yeah, change is possible, wow, what an idea.
0:21:32 > 0:21:39I mean, I can stop being the piece of garbage that I think I am
0:21:39 > 0:21:41and actually be a person.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43How do you explain that change?
0:21:43 > 0:21:47What has happened to make that change possible?
0:21:47 > 0:21:53You learn that certain thoughts are very inappropriate
0:21:53 > 0:21:55and now, when I have those thoughts,
0:21:55 > 0:21:58that's exactly what I deem them as.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01So, you still have those thoughts sometimes?
0:22:03 > 0:22:05Especially about my victims.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07About your daughters?
0:22:07 > 0:22:11They're deemed very inappropriate.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13But you still may have thoughts about your victims,
0:22:13 > 0:22:14about your daughters?
0:22:14 > 0:22:17Yeah. When I do, I pray for them.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21So, if you're having thoughts, you're not cured
0:22:21 > 0:22:23because the thoughts are a symptom
0:22:23 > 0:22:28of having a sexual desire towards children.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38Yeah, but I wouldn't classify myself as a paedophile.
0:22:38 > 0:22:39That's history.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45'Despite Dr Fedoroff's claim that he can cure paedophilia,
0:22:45 > 0:22:49'most experts believe that, once they've reached adulthood,
0:22:49 > 0:22:52'paedophiles' sexual desires are fixed.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56'If this is true, then what can be done?'
0:22:57 > 0:23:00PHONE RINGS
0:23:00 > 0:23:03Good morning. Stop It Now helpline, how can I help you?
0:23:03 > 0:23:05You don't have to give me your full name,
0:23:05 > 0:23:07but if you do and give me information
0:23:07 > 0:23:10that identifies a child at risk of being abused,
0:23:10 > 0:23:14we will pass that information on to the appropriate agencies.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16'Stop It Now runs a helpline.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20'Among others, it takes calls from potential abusers.'
0:23:20 > 0:23:22Do you ever find the work disturbing?
0:23:22 > 0:23:24There can be times.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28My main aim is so that they don't reoffend.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31So to establish some trust, to talk with them
0:23:31 > 0:23:34and to find out what's been happening
0:23:34 > 0:23:39so that I can give them practical, sustainable, realistic advice.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44I know what I'm doing's wrong, but I can't stop.
0:23:44 > 0:23:49I'll be arrested if I tell anyone. I'm trapped.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51Who is there to talk to anyway?
0:23:53 > 0:23:57'Stop It Now doesn't offer a cure for paedophilia.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59'It offers therapy and advice
0:23:59 > 0:24:02'about how to control inappropriate sexual desires.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04'It's run by one of Britain's
0:24:04 > 0:24:08'leading experts on child sex abusers.'
0:24:08 > 0:24:11Why should we provide help to those who've committed
0:24:11 > 0:24:16or enjoy viewing images of heinous crimes that are committed
0:24:16 > 0:24:18against children, why should we help them?
0:24:18 > 0:24:21Look, if someone has come to formal attention,
0:24:21 > 0:24:23I'm not here to shelter them
0:24:23 > 0:24:26from the consequences of the criminal law.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29All I'm saying is my primary concern
0:24:29 > 0:24:32is in protecting children and, if we start from that premise,
0:24:32 > 0:24:35what's the best to protect children, then we have to extend services
0:24:35 > 0:24:38that would help sex offenders not be dangerous to children tomorrow.
0:24:44 > 0:24:45But can this approach work?
0:24:45 > 0:24:50If sexual desires are fixed and permanent, can they be controlled?
0:24:53 > 0:24:56'I went to see someone we'll call Chris.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00'He's a paedophile, but has undergone intensive therapy
0:25:00 > 0:25:04'and says he has never abused a child or viewed indecent images.'
0:25:06 > 0:25:12What strategies do you use in order not to act on your urges?
0:25:12 > 0:25:15For me, it was learning the difference
0:25:15 > 0:25:17between want and need.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19You know, we all experience urges to do things,
0:25:19 > 0:25:23but it is just an urge, it doesn't mean that you have to do something
0:25:23 > 0:25:26and just as you can make the choice to act on that feeling,
0:25:26 > 0:25:29you can just as easily make the choice NOT to.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32I think that your sexual desires, my sexuality
0:25:32 > 0:25:37is who I am, it's what I was born with and that's my nature.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39The way I act and my feeling,
0:25:39 > 0:25:43my moral feeling that to act on that sexual impulse is wrong
0:25:43 > 0:25:45and to harm a child is wrong
0:25:45 > 0:25:47is down to the fact that I was brought up
0:25:47 > 0:25:49with a very clear moral compass,
0:25:49 > 0:25:52a very clear idea of what is right and wrong.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56Not all paedophiles are child abusers
0:25:56 > 0:26:00and whatever assistance, help, signposting,
0:26:00 > 0:26:03advice and deterrents that we can provide to paedophiles
0:26:03 > 0:26:05to help contain those interests,
0:26:05 > 0:26:07that's something we should really aim for
0:26:07 > 0:26:09and obviously a critical aim for us at the NSPCC
0:26:09 > 0:26:13is to ensure that people with those sexual interests don't act on them.
0:26:15 > 0:26:20There's no question that paedophiles who abuse children must be locked up.
0:26:23 > 0:26:24But there IS evidence
0:26:24 > 0:26:27that some paedophiles can manage their behaviour.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31But what about other child abusers?
0:26:33 > 0:26:36If we go back to our graph of the age that abuse happens,
0:26:36 > 0:26:40we see that many children are 12, 13 or older -
0:26:40 > 0:26:44beyond the age when paedophiles normally target them.
0:26:44 > 0:26:49So, that raises the question - who is abusing THESE children?
0:26:49 > 0:26:53Isn't anyone who abuses a child a paedophile?
0:26:53 > 0:26:58No, they're not. I mean, in the public conception, they might be,
0:26:58 > 0:27:01but, for our purposes, it's really important to distinguish
0:27:01 > 0:27:03those who are and those who are not.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05There is a group of people, of menfolk, in particular,
0:27:05 > 0:27:09but some women, who will sexually abuse adolescent children.
0:27:09 > 0:27:10They may not be sexually attracted
0:27:10 > 0:27:12to younger children, but to teenagers.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15So it's quite important to distinguish the paedophile
0:27:15 > 0:27:17from other forms of sex offender.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25The first hug, I think, I will never, ever forget, cos I remember
0:27:25 > 0:27:28that feeling in my stomach and in my gut and I felt sick.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30And how old were you, sorry?
0:27:30 > 0:27:32- 13.- 13.
0:27:32 > 0:27:38And then it sort of evolved from that to sexual assaults
0:27:38 > 0:27:40and stuff quite quickly.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44'Yehudis was abused by a family friend.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47'Like younger victims, most teenagers are abused
0:27:47 > 0:27:49'either by a member of the family
0:27:49 > 0:27:52'or someone they know through the family.'
0:27:52 > 0:27:56How did the abuse take place? Did he just take you off places?
0:27:56 > 0:28:01There was all different ways. He'd follow me around the house
0:28:01 > 0:28:03so if everyone was in the kitchen or something
0:28:03 > 0:28:07and I was in the living room, he'd sort of miraculously appear there.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09He'd offer me rides
0:28:09 > 0:28:13where I would look the silly one for not taking a ride.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15So I'd end up having to be in the car with him
0:28:15 > 0:28:17and lots of things happened in the car.
0:28:17 > 0:28:22I just kept imagining that I actually would be better off dead
0:28:22 > 0:28:25because I didn't know how I was going to get out of that situation.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27So it took you to thoughts of suicide.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30Yes, daily.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39There almost comes with more of a stigma or an embarrassment
0:28:39 > 0:28:41just to say, "Well, I was a teenager,
0:28:41 > 0:28:42"why didn't I know what was happening?"
0:28:42 > 0:28:46or, "Stop it," or, "Teenagers can be seductive,"
0:28:46 > 0:28:49or, "They can initiate these sort of things,"
0:28:49 > 0:28:52and all these weird connotations.
0:28:52 > 0:28:56And I felt so responsible and so guilty
0:28:56 > 0:28:59and not knowing how to stop it.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09Abusers who are not clinically paedophiles
0:29:09 > 0:29:11often target adolescents,
0:29:11 > 0:29:14but they sometimes target younger children as well.
0:29:15 > 0:29:20Some have a very specific attraction to children going through puberty.
0:29:20 > 0:29:24And there's another group who think their sexual attraction
0:29:24 > 0:29:26to young teenagers is normal -
0:29:26 > 0:29:29that they are no different to the rest of the male population.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34There are some concerning studies
0:29:34 > 0:29:37that would suggest that maybe 10-12%
0:29:37 > 0:29:41of the adult population of the UK have occasionally, if not frequent,
0:29:41 > 0:29:44sexual thoughts involving teenage children.
0:29:44 > 0:29:47But they manage those thoughts, they don't act on them
0:29:47 > 0:29:49and they put them where they belong.
0:29:49 > 0:29:50For the sex offender, though,
0:29:50 > 0:29:53they persuade themselves that this behaviour is OK
0:29:53 > 0:29:56or they're in a situation where they don't care.
0:30:02 > 0:30:07These abusers, like the abusers of younger children, are rarely caught.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10They exploit the fact that traumatised, terrified children
0:30:10 > 0:30:14generally don't come forward to report what has happened to them.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17And even when these children do tell somebody,
0:30:17 > 0:30:20all too often, nobody listens.
0:30:23 > 0:30:25The figures are disturbing.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28The Children's Commissioner's report asked victims what happened
0:30:28 > 0:30:31when they told someone about the abuse.
0:30:31 > 0:30:36Just one in five said it led to the abuse stopping completely.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39Shockingly, almost the same proportion
0:30:39 > 0:30:42said that the abuse actually got worse as a result -
0:30:42 > 0:30:45that the child was, in effect, punished.
0:30:47 > 0:30:51Sometimes adults simply don't believe children
0:30:51 > 0:30:53who tell them about abuse.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56They may find it too shocking or confusing.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59They may have divided loyalties or be complicit.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02Some will be victims of the abuser themselves.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08So often when children disclose, they're not heard,
0:31:08 > 0:31:09they're not listened to.
0:31:09 > 0:31:11The number of times it can take children
0:31:11 > 0:31:14to try to disclose the abuse before they're heard
0:31:14 > 0:31:19and before it stops can sometimes be three, four, five, six times
0:31:19 > 0:31:21and it needs to be as early as possible.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24When adults do listen and do act,
0:31:24 > 0:31:27all too often the abuser is not punished.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32Even when abuse is reported to the police,
0:31:32 > 0:31:36in three out of four cases, no criminal charges are brought
0:31:36 > 0:31:39and conviction rates are lower still.
0:31:39 > 0:31:44In the two-year period between 2012 and 2014,
0:31:44 > 0:31:48when research suggests around 425,000 children
0:31:48 > 0:31:53were sexually abused, there were fewer than 6,500 convictions
0:31:53 > 0:31:56for contact child sex abuse in England.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00Why is that number so small?
0:32:00 > 0:32:03I think these are incredibly complex investigations
0:32:03 > 0:32:07where you simply have the offender and the victim,
0:32:07 > 0:32:10and unless you have physical evidence,
0:32:10 > 0:32:13you are then in a situation where you have the word of the victim
0:32:13 > 0:32:15against the word of the offender,
0:32:15 > 0:32:18which makes it difficult to prosecute.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21I mean, by and large, experts who work with children
0:32:21 > 0:32:24say that children don't make this stuff up.
0:32:24 > 0:32:26If they're saying they're abused,
0:32:26 > 0:32:28it's very likely that they have been abused.
0:32:28 > 0:32:3125% of those cases leading to a perpetrator being charged
0:32:31 > 0:32:32is just terrible.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35Yeah, and I would want it to be a lot higher,
0:32:35 > 0:32:40but, as I've said, these are very, very difficult cases to deal with.
0:32:40 > 0:32:46The stark reality is that for the majority of children
0:32:46 > 0:32:49who report this to the authorities,
0:32:49 > 0:32:51they won't see their perpetrators brought to justice.
0:32:51 > 0:32:55Waiting for children to take the responsibility
0:32:55 > 0:33:02and the burden to disclose this awful experience is not enough.
0:33:02 > 0:33:06We have to change the system, we have to change our approach
0:33:06 > 0:33:09to ensure that we're looking for the signs and symptoms
0:33:09 > 0:33:11and we're supporting children
0:33:11 > 0:33:14to tell us in a way that is supportive to them.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22'As an adult, Yehudis did bring her abuser to court.
0:33:22 > 0:33:27'As so often, it was her word against his.'
0:33:27 > 0:33:29You have to stand on the stand all day
0:33:29 > 0:33:33and just take a beating from a defence lawyer.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36Tell me a bit about that. Why would you describe it as a beating?
0:33:36 > 0:33:38Oh, I felt like I was in a boxing ring.
0:33:38 > 0:33:40Erm, sorry...
0:33:40 > 0:33:42No, it's all right, sweetheart.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45He called me a liar every second word.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50It sounds like you were actually being abused all over again.
0:33:50 > 0:33:52In a very different way, yeah.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57'Yehudis's abuser spent 18 months in prison.'
0:34:02 > 0:34:05But not all abusers are adults.
0:34:05 > 0:34:07One of the most startling revelations
0:34:07 > 0:34:10of the new Children's Commissioner's report
0:34:10 > 0:34:14is that a third of those who abuse children are other children
0:34:14 > 0:34:18or young people under the age of 18.
0:34:23 > 0:34:27'I went to meet the director of an intervention centre in Wales
0:34:27 > 0:34:30'for children displaying harmful sexual behaviour.'
0:34:30 > 0:34:33Can you give me a sense of the kind of child
0:34:33 > 0:34:36that you would be treating here?
0:34:36 > 0:34:40Our young people will have been through
0:34:40 > 0:34:43very difficult and traumatic early childhood experiences,
0:34:43 > 0:34:46so we're talking about neglect,
0:34:46 > 0:34:51trauma, attachment difficulties, poor parenting experiences.
0:34:52 > 0:34:56Sometimes that will have included sexual abuse in their own histories.
0:34:56 > 0:34:59If we were to break this down
0:34:59 > 0:35:03in terms of a nature versus nurture position,
0:35:03 > 0:35:06this is about nurture issues.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10The vast majority of young people of whichever age
0:35:10 > 0:35:14who engage in maladaptive sexual behaviour
0:35:14 > 0:35:18with other children will grow out of that,
0:35:18 > 0:35:21or with the right sorts of support and intervention
0:35:21 > 0:35:25are able to understand where that's come from,
0:35:25 > 0:35:29deal with victim work and move on from these incidents.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31There's no question - early intervention,
0:35:31 > 0:35:34early intervention, early intervention.
0:35:37 > 0:35:41Children who abuse are very often victims themselves.
0:35:41 > 0:35:44They can respond to treatment and change.
0:35:44 > 0:35:47Centres like Kevin's are highly effective
0:35:47 > 0:35:51in reducing the overall amount of child sex abuse.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04But despite the measures put in place to protect children,
0:36:04 > 0:36:07there are fears that abuse could be on the increase.
0:36:07 > 0:36:12Above all, experts are concerned at the impact of the internet.
0:36:15 > 0:36:17The internet is a huge problem.
0:36:18 > 0:36:20There are now more indecent images of children
0:36:20 > 0:36:23in circulation than there ever have been.
0:36:23 > 0:36:25There are more people, I believe,
0:36:25 > 0:36:30using chatroom facilities to groom children.
0:36:30 > 0:36:32and more children, I believe,
0:36:32 > 0:36:34are being abused as a result of that.
0:36:34 > 0:36:39We suspect that there are approximately 50,000 people
0:36:39 > 0:36:42online in the UK downloading child abuse material.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46The abuse is anything that you can imagine.
0:36:46 > 0:36:50We have some images of babies that are a few months old
0:36:50 > 0:36:54that have been quite brutally sexually abused by offenders,
0:36:54 > 0:36:59right up until the latter age of 17-year-olds being abused.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02There are certain types of offenders -
0:37:02 > 0:37:05the ones that, because they want the kudos,
0:37:05 > 0:37:07because they want people to know
0:37:07 > 0:37:10and understand that they are the abuser of the child,
0:37:10 > 0:37:14they will sometimes have the child hold up either a Post-It note
0:37:14 > 0:37:17or a placard that says the date,
0:37:17 > 0:37:20or even the username that that offender uses online
0:37:20 > 0:37:23in order to prove to the community
0:37:23 > 0:37:26that they are in fact the abuser of that child.
0:37:32 > 0:37:36'Today, Paul and Coral Jones are leading a determined campaign
0:37:36 > 0:37:42'to drive paedophiles and other child sex offenders from the internet.'
0:37:42 > 0:37:47Child sex abuse images were viewed by Mark Bridger.
0:37:47 > 0:37:52Do you think they were part of the process
0:37:52 > 0:37:58that led him to what he then did to April?
0:37:58 > 0:38:01- Yeah, I do. - You do. Tell me why you think that.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05He'd had these images on his computer for a fair while
0:38:05 > 0:38:08and he was known on his computer to be seeing these images
0:38:08 > 0:38:11only three hours before he took April.
0:38:11 > 0:38:13- Three hours?- Three hours.
0:38:13 > 0:38:14Only three hours and he had, I think,
0:38:14 > 0:38:16it was nearly 400 images on there.
0:38:16 > 0:38:22Do you feel that it is a real risk that people will go,
0:38:22 > 0:38:26will progress from viewing sex abuse images of children
0:38:26 > 0:38:30to then wanting to contact abuse? Do you see that as a kind of...
0:38:30 > 0:38:31There's a definite link.
0:38:31 > 0:38:36When we went to court, Mark Bridger, with his lifestyle and everything,
0:38:36 > 0:38:39and with his downloading of these images,
0:38:39 > 0:38:43it was proved in court that there was a procedure
0:38:43 > 0:38:46that he went through and eventually took April.
0:38:46 > 0:38:48So, yes, there is a link there.
0:38:48 > 0:38:51If there had been a child available to you
0:38:51 > 0:38:54when you were looking at those images,
0:38:54 > 0:38:58would viewing those images have made it more likely
0:38:58 > 0:39:03that you may yourself then have abused that child?
0:39:07 > 0:39:13I hope, in my heart of hearts, that I wouldn't cross that line.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16But would I have done it? I don't know.
0:39:16 > 0:39:18I just pray that I wouldn't have done it.
0:39:18 > 0:39:19But you can't say that you...
0:39:19 > 0:39:22- I can't say, - ..100% would not have done?- No.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31But the internet also offers an opportunity
0:39:31 > 0:39:34in the fight against child sex abuse.
0:39:34 > 0:39:36It's something that's quite discreet
0:39:36 > 0:39:38and I need to speak to you in private.
0:39:38 > 0:39:40It means the police are no longer
0:39:40 > 0:39:45entirely dependent on child victims and their ability to report abuse.
0:39:47 > 0:39:49As a detective working in the police,
0:39:49 > 0:39:55whenever I dealt with theft, shoplifting, even violent offences,
0:39:55 > 0:39:59one of the first things I looked for was the CCTV.
0:39:59 > 0:40:01Well, that is what an indecent image of a child is.
0:40:01 > 0:40:05It's the CCTV that the offender has captured for us.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08We're using some amazing technology here.
0:40:08 > 0:40:12Images have certain clues contained within them.
0:40:12 > 0:40:17We analyse that in order to find out where the image originated from.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19If we look at the figures from last year,
0:40:19 > 0:40:25we saved 100 children from being further abused by people in the UK -
0:40:25 > 0:40:28and that was just this team.
0:40:32 > 0:40:34You didn't disclose.
0:40:34 > 0:40:38It was through the internet that the abuse came to light.
0:40:38 > 0:40:42They were exchanging pornographic pictures through other people,
0:40:42 > 0:40:46I think there was a network of people that were exchanging pictures
0:40:46 > 0:40:50and the police caught one of them and caught all of them.
0:40:51 > 0:40:56So if they'd never taken it as far as the internet,
0:40:56 > 0:40:59I don't think I would have said anything,
0:40:59 > 0:41:01I don't think they would have been caught.
0:41:03 > 0:41:05Millie's abusers were both jailed.
0:41:17 > 0:41:21The fight against child sex abuse is at a turning point.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24Police investigations into internet offences
0:41:24 > 0:41:27have led to more and more abusers being identified.
0:41:27 > 0:41:29Cases like Jimmy Savile's
0:41:29 > 0:41:32have led to thousands of victims coming forward.
0:41:32 > 0:41:34This is a moment of opportunity.
0:41:35 > 0:41:39This year, we'll investigate circa 70,000 allegations
0:41:39 > 0:41:45of child sexual abuse, which is a really significant increase.
0:41:45 > 0:41:49It's an 88% increase on the figures we saw in 2012.
0:41:49 > 0:41:5140-50% of Crown Court time now
0:41:51 > 0:41:55is taken up with dealing with sex offenders.
0:41:55 > 0:41:56What we now have to focus on
0:41:56 > 0:42:00is how we stop that abuse taking place in the first place
0:42:00 > 0:42:04because, by the time the abuse is reported, the damage is done.
0:42:09 > 0:42:13We need to seize the moment to improve the criminal justice system,
0:42:13 > 0:42:16so it does more to identify, investigate
0:42:16 > 0:42:18and prosecute this crime.
0:42:18 > 0:42:22Traumatised, terrified children can't always help themselves.
0:42:22 > 0:42:27Parents, professionals - all of us - we need to learn that children
0:42:27 > 0:42:32sometimes speak without words and we have to learn to spot the signs.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39I used to self-harm quite a bit. It was a cry for help.
0:42:39 > 0:42:43I wasn't attention seeking but it was, er, "Help me,"
0:42:43 > 0:42:46and it was a visual, because I couldn't explain it.
0:42:46 > 0:42:49I couldn't articulate it. I didn't know how to turn round
0:42:49 > 0:42:53and say to one of my family members, "Oh, this is happening."
0:42:53 > 0:42:55So, I was hurting myself in the hope
0:42:55 > 0:42:58that someone would turn round and notice and ask me why.
0:42:58 > 0:42:59- But, no-one did.- No-one did?
0:42:59 > 0:43:01No-one noticed.
0:43:05 > 0:43:07There are many children
0:43:07 > 0:43:11and teenagers who are living the nightmare of abuse right now.
0:43:14 > 0:43:18They must know that help is available
0:43:18 > 0:43:20and that there is life after abuse.
0:43:24 > 0:43:29'Today, Yehudis runs a charity for survivors of child sexual abuse
0:43:29 > 0:43:30'and has just got married.
0:43:33 > 0:43:35'Cameron has got his first job...
0:43:38 > 0:43:40'..while Millie is studying for her A-levels
0:43:40 > 0:43:42'and applying for university.'
0:43:46 > 0:43:48You don't feel like a victim.
0:43:48 > 0:43:50No, I'm not a victim.
0:43:50 > 0:43:53I'm a survivor, I'm here.
0:43:53 > 0:43:55What does that mean? Tell me.
0:43:55 > 0:43:58Even though I've gone through that horrible time in my life,
0:43:58 > 0:44:02I understand that I have got so much potential
0:44:02 > 0:44:05to have an amazing life and I've got so much time
0:44:05 > 0:44:10that I can make a change and I can do whatever I want to do
0:44:10 > 0:44:13and I can have aspirations and achieve them
0:44:13 > 0:44:15and just enjoy my life.
0:44:16 > 0:44:17Look at you smiling.