hertfordshire child abuse stats Sexual Abuser

April 2012 More than a hundred children sexually abused in Hertfordshire last year One hundred and fifty Hertfordshire children, some less than five years old, have been the victims of sex crimes last year, according to new figures.

Offences against the county’s children include rape, incest and abuse through prostitution and pornography, figures obtained under a Freedom of Information request have shown.

Of the victims, 24 had not reached secondary school age and four were five and under.

However, the majority of the offences, 126, were reported against 11 to 17 year olds.

Nationally, more than 400 sexual assaults against children were reported to police forces in England and Wales every week last year with fewer than one in ten resulting in a conviction.

Data obtained by the NSPCC over the last four years shows that during that period there has been no significant decrease in reported offences.

The number of convictions in England and Wales has risen by around a quarter from 1,747 in 2007 to 2,135 in 2010.

Dan Russell, regional head of service at the NSPCC, said: “Many of these distressing offences are committed on extremely young and helpless children, who may not understand what is happening to them and are unable to ask for help.

“The NSPCC is doing what it can by using information like this from the police to tailor our treatment services- different approaches are needed depending on the age of the child.

“We are also pioneering new programmes across our region to tackle sexual abuse of children, including our Schools Service which aims to visit every primary school in the county over two years.

“But we can’t tackle this problem by ourselves.

“It requires a major effort from government and the public to give children the protection they need and to provide more therapeutic programmes so the young victims can reduce the debilitating affects of abuse and start to rebuild their lives.”