[Editor's Note: This comes out of Great Britain, so some of the terms and items talked about may not be familiar to you, but the overall relevance of the article is that women need to be careful about dating apps. The research, however, does come out of the U.S., too.]
Research reveals risk of predators grooming women to access their children
Calls for stronger regulation of matchmaking apps used by 381 million people as report reveals men who have sexually offended against children use dating apps daily
•Single mums risk as two thirds of men who have offended use dating sites
• Offenders four times more likely to use dating sites than other men
• Most dating apps have inadequate identity checks for users
• Report urges ID checks and AI tools to detect predatory behavior.
Women looking for love online are being warned of a sinister side to dating apps, with new evidence that abusers may try to groom them to gain access to their children.
Academic research by the Childlight Global Child Safety Institute, based on a survey of about 5,000 men in the US, UK and Australia, finds men who sexually offend against children are nearly four times more likely to use dating sites than non-offenders.
The data institute, hosted by the University of Edinburgh and University of New South Wales, found nearly two thirds (66%) of men who sexually offended against children used dating platforms – and over one in five (22%) used them daily.
The report, Swipe Wrong, is part of a broader investigation into the multi-billion-dollar industry of child sexual exploitation and abuse, which financially benefits perpetrators, organised crime and even mainstream companies.
While Childlight warns that sexual exploitation and abuse of children has become a pandemic, affecting over 300 million every year, it says education, legislation and technological measures can help prevent it.
It has even uncovered digital clues left behind by abusers that could help law enforcement catch more offenders and safeguard more children.
Its findings represent the latest evidence of the dangers of dating site misuse by people who sexually offend against children, with single mothers at particular risk.
It follows a separate recent survey by the Australian Institute of Criminology that found 12% of dating apps users received requests to facilitate child sexual exploitation and abuse – most often related to their own children.
Recent high-profile cases have emerged in the States while one Scottish lorry driver, Paul Stewart, was jailed for three and a half years last December for manipulating single mothers via dating apps to gain access to their children for sexual abuse.
A court in Dundee, Scotland heard how he formed relationships with women he met online so he could abuse and photograph their children and send the images to a network of paedophiles. The court heard he abused one young girl during a sleepover with her friend and took indecent images of an 11-month-old baby to share on the dark web.
Around 381 million people use dating apps like Tinder, according to Statista.
Report co-author Professor Michael Salter, director of the Childlight East Asia and Pacific Hub at University of New South Wales, said: “Our findings provide clear evidence that dating apps lack adequate child protection measures, and loopholes are exploited by abusers to target single parents and their children.”
The survey of 5,000 men found 11.5% admitted having sexual feelings towards children, while 11% confessed to sexual offences against minors.
Most dating sites do not require new users to provide evidence of their identity. Salter recommends user verification processes, like mandatory ID checks, and tools to detect predatory behaviours like grooming language or suspicious messaging patterns.
“There’s no reason why the robust user identification methods we have in other industries, such as banking and gambling, should not also have to be adopted by dating app platforms,” he said. “Similarly, there are a range of AI tools and systems that can flag problematic words and conversations that can and should be used.”
Childlight’s research also reveals that mainstream companies are among those benefiting from, and perpetuating, a multi-billion-dollar global trade in the technology-facilitated sexual exploitation and abuse of children (CSEA). They include payment transfer firms and social media platforms where illegal child sexual abuse images are present and where abuse-related traffic can increase advertising revenues.
Debi Fry, Childlight’s Global Director of Data and Professor of International Child Protection Research at University of Edinburgh, said: “Child sexual exploitation and abuse is a global public health emergency that requires emergency measures but it’s preventable. We must mobilise globally, focusing not just on reactive law enforcement but on prevention strategies tackling underlying determinants of abuse — including financial and technological ecosystems sustaining it.”
Childlight’s report shares many new insights into perpetrator behaviour online. It found offenders may appear trustworthy, as they are more likely to have a child in their house, work with children, and have a higher education level.
However, researchers also uncovered telltale clues that could act as red flags for financial institutions and police. These include that men who have committed sexual offences against children engage more frequently in certain online activities, like online shopping, dating and gaming. They are also more likely to own and use cryptocurrency and to buy sexual content online.
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Statistical explanation by Childlight
In our findings, we report that nearly two-thirds of men who say they have committed sexual offences against children use dating platforms, compared to 31% of other men who have not offended. At first glance, this might seem like those who have offended are about twice as likely to use dating apps. But in fact, they are around four times more likely to do so.
This is because we are not just comparing percentages – we are looking at odds, which is a common and more accurate way to measure likelihood in research like this. To explain simply:
• The percentage tells us how many people in each group use dating apps.The odds tell us how likely someone is to be in one group compared to another, based on their behaviour – in this case, using dating platforms.
• So while 64% vs. 31% looks like “just over double,” the odds tell us that the difference in likelihood is actually much greater – about four times higher. This gives a clearer picture of how strongly linked the behaviour is with offending.
Childlight is a global child safety data institute, hosted by the University of Edinburgh and University of New South Wales and established by Human Dignity Foundation. It utilises academic research expertise to better understand the nature and prevalence of child sexual exploitation and abuse to help inform policy responses to tackling it. Its purpose is to safeguard children across the world from sexual exploitation and abuse. Its vision is to have child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) recognised as a global health issue that can be prevented and treated. Its mission is to use the power of data to drive sustainable, co-ordinated action to safeguard children across the world; improve CSEA data, quality, integrity and reproducibility; and be recognised as the leading independent authority for global CSEA data. Childlight also draws on decades of law enforcement experience at a senior level. Its multi-disciplinary approach ensures not only the production of high-quality data insights but enables Childlight to help authorities around the world turn data into action to pinpoint and arrest perpetrators and safeguard children.
