Daily Roundup 9 October: Child-on-child abuse, unaccompanied children, and online hate crime

Reports of sexual assaults by children on other children are rising, according to police figures. The BBC reports that the number of reported sexual offences by under-18s on other under-18s rose by 71 per cent from 4,603 in 2013/14 to 7,866 in 2016/17.


Hundreds of unaccompanied children claiming to have relatives in Britain are stranded in France where their asylum cases are not being actively considered, senior human rights lawyers have said. The Guardian reports that a study by the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales, released a year after the demolition of the Calais refugee camp, warns that as many as 400 children are trapped in France and are still vulnerable to trafficking, abuse and disease.


Home Secretary Amber Rudd has announced a national hub to tackle the emerging threat of hate crime online. The Home Office said that the hub will be run by the National Police Chiefs Council, which will work to ensure online cases are managed effectively and efficiently.


The Welsh Government's free childcare policy will leave Wales's poorest children behind, the children's commissioner for Wales has warned. Parents are entitled to 30 hours of free childcare every week for 48 weeks a year, but this only extends to working parents. ITV News reports that Sally Holland said the scheme should be accessible to all parents, arguing that out of work families, whatever their background, need the same quality of service, or they risk falling further behind.