EDINBURGH, United Kingdom, April 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 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. 

Research by Childlight Global Child Safety Institute finds men who sexually offend against children are nearly four times more likely to use dating sites than non-offenders. 

The unit, 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 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. 

Its findings, based on a survey of about 5,000 men in Australia, the UK and US, represent the latest evidence of the risk of dating site misuse by people who sexually offend against children. 

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 – often related to their own children. 

Recent high-profile cases include Scottish lorry driver Paul Stewart who manipulated single mothers via dating apps to gain access to their children for sexual abuse. He was jailed for over three years last December. 

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 UNSW, 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. 

Childlight’s research also reveals that mainstream companies profit from and perpetuate the global trade in 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.” 

More at childlight.org

childlight@ed.ac.uk