New Research on Child Sexual Abuse Material Perpetrator Behaviour Presented at an Event in London
- Protect Children
- 12 hours ago
- 2 min read
Last week, on 18 March 2026, Protect Children and Ofcom hosted a research launch event in London, presenting new groundbreaking findings on how perpetrators of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) use online services and technologies. Watch the recording below.
The launch took place at The Centre for Social Justice and brought together over 600 representatives from regulation, law enforcement, civil society, academia, tech and international organisations.
The event began with opening remarks from Simon Bailey, Expert Advisor at Protect Children, and Almudena Lara, Ofcom’s Online Safety Policy Director, who highlighted the importance of strengthening the evidence base to address online harms.
Nina Vaaranen-Valkonen, Executive Director of Protect Children, then introduced the organisation’s work and presented the background of the research. Tegan Insoll ,Head of Research at Protect Children, provided a detailed overview of the research results, focusing on technologies, platforms, and pathways that enable access to CSAM.
The research is based on a global anonymous self-report survey of individuals searching for CSAM online. With more than 20,000 responses collected in 24 languages, the study provides new evidence on perpetration pathways, accessibility of CSAM and the platforms used to find this material, platform design and features, emerging technologies including AI, deterrence and disruption, and intersecting online harms.
Published: 18 March 2026
CSAM Perpetrator Research Report
Findings from a Survey of CSAM Perpetrators on Digital Platform Use and Design
Later, there was an insightful panel discussion, facilitated by Simon Bailey, with contributions from Dan Sexton from the Internet Watch Foundation, Danny van Althuis from EC3 AP Twins, Michael Tunks from Ofcom, and Nina Vaaranen-Valkonen. The discussion addressed implications for prevention, platform responsibility, and policy development.
The findings highlight that CSAM is accessible across the wider digital ecosystem and underline the importance of strengthening preventive measures, including safer platform design and early intervention.
Protect Children is grateful to Ofcom for sponsoring this research and thanks all speakers and participants for their contributions to the event.
