Child in Hampshire sexually abused every seven minutes NSPCC charity warns

The NSPCC said in Hampshire there was a 58 per cent hike between 2014-2019.

The 76,204 crimes – including rape, grooming and sexual assault – in 2018/19 works out to one every seven minutes on average.

More than 16,000 of the crimes were against children under the age of 10.

Peter Wanless, NSPCC chief executive, said: ‘Record numbers of child sexual offences means we are facing a nationwide crisis in the help available for tens of thousands of children.

‘These children are bravely disclosing what happened to them but in too many cases there is not enough timely, joined up and child-friendly support. Instead they are shunted from overstretched service to service.

‘We need a radical rethink in the way we help these young people, otherwise they could struggle for the rest of their lives with long term, deep seated trauma.’