Sextortion: lessons from the casefiles
Friday 26 September,9:30 AM - 11:30 AM
π·οΈ Β£135-270
π§ Safeguarding practitioners and leaders who may work or be working with children, their families and other professionals where children are subject to financially motivated extortion and technology assisted child sexual abuse
π Online
Course outline:
Understanding and Responding to Sextortion: Safeguarding Practice in Focus
Β Recent reports from the National Crime Agency (NCA) and CEOP highlight a significant rise in cases of sextortionβwhere children and young people are coerced into meeting financial demands under threats to release nudes or semi-nudes. This form of blackmail, often digitally facilitated, presents complex safeguarding challenges requiring informed, sensitive, and coordinated responses.
This interactive seminar brings together safeguarding practitioners for a collaborative exploration of sextortion and its impact on children. Led by a specialist in technology-assisted child sexual abuse, the session provides expert insight, encourages professional reflection, and equips participants with tools to identify, respond to, and prevent this growing form of harm.
Training topics will include:
- Defining financially motivated sexual extortion (sextortion) and using the Sharing Nudes and Semi-Nudes guidance effectively
- Understanding the voice and lived experience of children affected by sextortion
- Examining the role of internal systems and multi-agency safeguarding in either supporting or re-traumatising victims
- Identifying key implications for safeguarding practice and preventative education
Learning outcomes:
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
- Develop a clear understanding of financially motivated sexual extortion and its impact on young people
- Apply the latest Nudes and Semi-Nudes guidance to inform safeguarding responses
- Reflect on the lived experiences of affected children, including the risks of victim-blaming and re-traumatisation
- Engage in reflective discussion, share experiences, and explore practical responses to complex safeguarding dilemmas
- Inform and shape future policy and practice in their setting to better identify, respond to, and prevent sextortion
Speaker:Β Β
Philip was a Detective having spent 30 years in the police. The last 14 years of his police service was in the Child Abuse Investigation Unit (CAIU).
Philip is a qualified AIM3 Assessor of children displaying HSB.
Philip also quality assured the Home Office Harmful Sexual Behaviours Support Service (HSBSS) where he oversaw and triaged all the requests for support and advised personally on all the complex cases.
He is also qualified as the following:
- Family Liaison Officer (FLO)
- Disaster Victim Identification Officer (DVI)
- Significant Witness interviewer (Sig Wit)
- Enhanced Cognitive Witness Interviewer
- Domestic Abuse Officer
- PIP Level 2 investigator
- Achieving Best Evidence (ABE- VRI vulnerable and intimidated witness interviewer)
- Specialist Child Abuse Investigative Development Programme (SCAIDP)
- Joint Investigator β Section 47 Children Act β89
Philip was also seconded to the Training Department for 2 years, where he received qualifications in training and delivered all these subjects, including Harmful Sexual Behaviours (HSB).
Philip supports survivors and families who have been victim of all types of abuse, including technology assisted child sexual abuse (TACSA) through his work as a consultant for the Marie Collins Foundation.