POSH
Report & Get Help — UK
Act early. Stay calm. Report properly.
Protect the child first, preserve evidence safely, then choose the correct UK reporting pathway.
UK REPORTING HUB
999
101
CEOP
IWF
Childline
If you are here because something feels serious, the priority is simple: keep the child safe, avoid panic, preserve evidence safely, then report through the right pathway.
Which situation sounds most like you right now?
You do not need perfect certainty. You need the safest next step.
If a child is in immediate danger
Call 999 immediately
If a child is at immediate risk, someone is trying to meet them, there is a real-world threat, stalking, violence, coercion, a known person involved, or danger happening now, emergency services come first.
Child safety first:
Protect the child → reduce unsafe contact where safe → preserve evidence safely → report through the right pathway → support the child.
UK reporting flow
Protect the child
↓
Save evidence safely
↓
Choose reporting pathway
↓
Report inside platform
↓
Support the child
The order matters. Panic, public posting, deleting evidence, or confronting the person first can make the situation harder.
Main UK reporting pathways
Use the pathway that matches the concern. In serious cases, more than one pathway may be needed.
- 999: immediate danger, real-world risk, urgent threats, attempted meeting, violence, stalking, or active harm.
- 101 / police: non-emergency police reporting, known person concerns, ongoing threats, blackmail, coercion, or local risk.
- CEOP: online grooming, sexual communication with a child, exploitation, manipulation, coercion, or attempts to meet a child.
- IWF: suspected child sexual abuse images or videos online, including links, websites, forums, or hosted content.
- Childline / Report Remove: support for under-18s who need help removing nude or sexual images shared online.
- Platform report: report inside the app, game, social platform, or messaging service after preserving evidence where safe.
If grooming or sexual risk is involved, CEOP is a key UK reporting path. If child sexual abuse images or videos are online, use IWF. If immediate danger exists, use 999 first.
Lane 1 — CEOP
Use CEOP when the concern involves online grooming, sexual communication, exploitation, coercion, manipulation, or an adult or older person trying to move a child into unsafe contact.
- Sexual messages or sexual conversations with a child
- Online grooming or manipulation
- Pressure to send photos, videos, voice notes, or live camera access
- Threats, coercion, blackmail, or sextortion linked to sexual contact
- Someone trying to meet a child in person
- Repeated contact from an adult, unknown person, or suspicious account
If there is immediate danger, call 999 first. CEOP is not a replacement for emergency action when a child may be unsafe now.
Lane 2 — IWF and Report Remove
Use this lane when the concern involves child sexual abuse images or videos online, nude or sexual images of an under-18, image-based abuse, or content that needs removal support.
- Child sexual abuse images or videos online
- Links, websites, groups, forums, or accounts sharing illegal child sexual content
- Nude or sexual images of an under-18 shared online
- AI-generated, edited, or deepfake sexual images involving children
- Threats to share images, repost images, or expose the child
Do not download, forward, repost, or share child sexual abuse material. Report through official channels only.
IWF is for reporting child sexual abuse images and videos online. Report Remove can help under-18s with removal of nude or sexual images.
Lane 3 — Police / 101
Use police when online risk may move into the real world, the person may be identifiable locally, or there are threats, blackmail, coercion, stalking, or ongoing danger.
- You know who the person is
- There are threats, blackmail, coercion, or stalking
- Someone may try to meet the child in person
- The child may be at local risk
- The situation is escalating quickly
- You need police involvement but it is not an immediate emergency
If danger is immediate, call 999. If it is not an emergency but police help is needed, use 101 or local police reporting.
If you are not sure which pathway fits
Many parents and safe adults know something feels wrong before they know exactly what category it belongs in.
Immediate danger, meeting risk, known person, stalking, threats, violence, or real-world harm → 999 or police.
Online grooming, sexual communication, coercion, sexual pressure, or attempts to meet a child → CEOP.
Child sexual abuse images or videos online → IWF.
Nude or sexual images of an under-18 that need removal support → Childline Report Remove.
Cyberbullying, harassment, unsafe platform contact, or harmful content → platform report, police if serious, and support services as needed.
What to do immediately
- Keep the child physically safe
- Stay calm on the outside
- Tell them they are not in trouble for telling you
- Reduce unsafe contact where safe
- Save usernames, profile links, group names, server names, and timestamps
- Take screenshots of threats, requests, and context where safe
- Write down what happened in order
- Do not delete anything before preserving evidence safely
- Do not confront the suspected person before reporting
You do not need certainty before reporting. Concern can be enough to take the next safe step.
What not to do
- Do not shame, blame, mock, or punish the child for telling you
- Do not delete chats, accounts, or messages before saving evidence safely
- Do not forward child sexual abuse material or illegal images
- Do not post accusations publicly
- Do not threaten the suspected person
- Do not pretend to be the child to investigate further
- Do not assume blocking alone fixes the risk
- Do not make the child carry the report alone
Rushed reactions can destroy evidence, escalate threats, or make the child stop talking.
Report inside the platform too
Platform reporting can help stop contact quickly, but it does not replace CEOP, IWF, police, or emergency services where danger, exploitation, threats, coercion, or illegal content is involved.
- Use in-app reporting tools
- Save report confirmation if available
- Record usernames, links, servers, groups, and timestamps
- Block after saving evidence where safe
How to talk to the child
The first adult response can decide whether the child keeps talking or shuts down.
Say this first
“I am glad you told me. You are not in trouble for speaking up. I am going to stay calm and help you work out what to do next.”
Then ask calmly
“Has anyone threatened you, asked for photos, told you to keep this secret, or asked to meet you?”
Key takeaway
Immediate danger goes to 999.
Non-emergency police matters can go through 101 or local police reporting.
Online grooming, sexual communication, and sexual exploitation concerns can be reported to CEOP.
Child sexual abuse images or videos online can be reported to IWF.
The child needs calm support, not blame.
Protect → Preserve Safely → Report Properly → Support
UK reporting and evidence cluster
These POSH pages support parents through evidence handling, safe reporting, image abuse, official pathways, and whole-family protection.
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