The campaign, launching today (15th January 2026) is a partnership between The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and child protection charity Lucy Faithfull Foundation to deter people from online sexual offending against children, and signpost to the free, anonymous, and confidential support to protect children and find a pathway out of this illegal behaviour through the Stop It Now helpline. Particularly, the campaign focuses on deterring people from viewing sexual images of under 18s, and sexual conversations with children under 16, both of which are illegal.

Lucy Faithfull Foundation, which runs the Stop It Now helpline and website, works to prevent people from offending online in the first place and to get them to stop if they have already started. It directs those engaged in this behaviour, or at risk of doing so, to www.stopitnow.org.uk that hosts online self-help resources, as well as the Stop It Now confidential helpline (0808 1000 900) where they can get help to address their online behaviour and stop looking at these harmful and illegal images.

The campaign has four simple messages to deter people from online sexual offending against children – viewing sexual images of children or having sexual conversations with children online is illegal. It’s deeply harmful to the victims, and it has serious consequences for you if you are caught – but crucially, there is anonymous and confidential help to find a pathway out of this behaviour and protect children from harm, though Stop It Now helpline.

In 2025, 83 people in Northern Ireland reached out to the Lucy Faithfull Foundation via calls, online chat and email. The Stop it Now website was accessed by 6,544 people from Northern Ireland seeking further information for either themselves or someone else.

Sadly, online sexual offences against children are becoming an increasing crime type in Northern Ireland. There were 2,187 sexual offences against children recorded in 2024, 187 of which relate to grooming and sexual communication with a child. 799 offences relating to taking, possessing, sharing or publishing indecent images of children were reported in 2024.

In 2024, the Police Service of Northern Ireland conducted 228 searches and made 76 arrests from intelligence relating to online child sexual abuse crimes.

Police have been working extensively to detect and prosecute people downloading and sharing sexual images of children online.

The joint campaign launched today will use traditional and social media to:

•                Raise public awareness of the growing problem of people viewing and sharing sexually explicit images of under 18s and online grooming
•                Educate those offending about the harm caused to children who are re-victimised each time their image is viewed
•                Highlight the increase in police activity across Northern Ireland to tackle the issue
•                Drive home the consequences of their behaviour to offenders - including arrest, possible imprisonment, break up of family and being put on the Sex Offenders Register
•                Make people aware that there is help available to stop such behaviour through the free, anonymous, confidential Stop It Now helpline, email, and live chat services.

Detective Chief Inspector Claire McDonald, said:

"The advancement in technology, accessibility to indecent images of children and the presumption of anonymity whilst offending online has seen an increase in the number of people viewing and sharing indecent images of children and seeking to use the internet to engage with children for sexual purposes. This type of offending is unacceptable.

"As a police service we have a duty to protect children from harm and to deter individuals from committing these types of horrific offences and we will continue to seek to identify and convict those individuals responsible. We will never stop searching online for child predators. My team work incredibly hard and are dedicated to identifying and bringing people before the courts who think their offending can go undetected.

“We are operating covertly in all digital spaces including the dark web to track and target offenders. There is no place to hide. If you are perpetrating online child abuse, it is only a matter of time before we will be knocking on your door.

"That being said, we also recognise the need to educate and stop individuals from continuing to offend, or prevent individuals from offending in the first place.

"Our partnership with the Lucy Faithfull Foundation plays a key role in this, providing an online space or confidential helpline in which to signpost individuals who are about to offend, to recognise the consequences of their actions and to seek support.

“Lucy Faithfull Foundation have worked closely with a number of other police forces to successfully divert and prevent offending behaviour, but also support families of offenders in dealing with the wider impact. I hope that through today's launch 'The Stop it Now!' campaign will continue to protect many more children, and reduce offending through targeted prevention across Northern Ireland."

Detectives are operating undercover already in digital spaces to catch potential offenders and Police say evidence-gathering is a very specialist job and can take considerable time and skill to ensure it is of sufficient quality to bring a high risk offender to justice.

DCI McDonald adds: “The police are the only lawful accountable authority to investigate suspected criminality.

“We take great care in gathering robust evidence and yes we rely on the public to come forward and report concerns to us, but only we should take action against potential perpetrators.

“The safety of victims and innocent family members should be at the forefront, as well as gathering the best possible evidence to put predators before the courts.”

Tom Squire, Head of Clinical Engagement at Lucy Faithfull Foundation, said:

“Our partnership with PSNI on this campaign is instrumental to deter people from online sexual offending against children. Thousands of people every year seek support from Stop It Now concerned about their online behaviour or sexual thoughts towards children. They come from all walks of life. Through our programmes, online self-help modules, and non-judgmental, action-oriented conversations with our expert helpline advisors, they can find a pathway out of this behaviour and prevent harm from taking place.

“We call on anyone with concerns about child sexual abuse, including their own online habits, to contact Stop It Now anonymously and get support to change their behaviour and protect children. This behaviour is illegal and causes great harm to children. There are grave consequences including arrest, losing your job and family. But there is anonymous help to stop, and there is a pathway out of this behaviour.”

Someone who knows all too well how a knock at the door from Police can change your life, is Bradley who, in his 20s, began viewing indecent images of children online and later sought help from the Stop it Now helpline. Bradley says: "In the days leading up to my arrest, my life looked successful from the outside. I was 24, earning a six-figure salary, and seemed confident and put-together at work. But privately, I was deeply unhappy. When I was at home, the person people saw in the office disappeared. I used porn and sexting to escape.

“I first accessed porn at around seven years old, and over time my tolerance changed. What once satisfied me stopped working, so I sought out more extreme content. For a long time it stayed within legal boundaries, but eventually I pushed beyond them. It wasn’t a sudden jump — it was a slow progression driven by isolation, stress, shame, and an unwillingness to reach out for help.

"The day I was arrested my first reaction wasn’t anger or denial — it was relief. I felt like I was finally going to get the help I’d needed for years.

“My life has changed dramatically since then. Through support services, like those provided by the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, I’ve been able to better understand myself, my compulsions and most important, the harm caused by my action. Shame doesn’t prevent offending — support does. If you’re worried about your sexual online behaviours, know that help is available.”