Charity Warns of Rising Online Abuse and Image Trading in UK

Recent anonymous testimonies reveal disturbing incidents of sexual abuse and harassment reported at 1,664 primary schools across the UK, sparking urgent calls for age-appropriate sex education for children under nine. The website Everyone’s Invited, hosting these accounts, details experiences of harassment ranging from groping to rape, with one chilling report involving a victim as young as five. A 12-year-old survivor described being abducted and assaulted at the age of 10 while walking to school, highlighting the severe impact of such trauma on young children. Sophie Lennox, a spokesperson for Everyone’s Invited, emphasized the need to educate children earlier, stating that the current age of nine is too late for introducing crucial topics on relationships and consent. Education leaders, like Daniel Kebede from the National Education Union, agree, noting that inappropriate behaviors have pervaded school environments, often learned from older siblings and social media. The government responded by acknowledging the need for comprehensive relationship and health education, reinforcing that all students must feel safe in schools.

Joseph Awuah-Darko, a 28-year-old British-Ghanaian artist, has chosen euthanasia over living with bipolar disorder, a decision he has documented extensively on social media. He relocated to the Netherlands, where euthanasia is legal, and is currently awaiting approval, which can take up to four years. Awuah-Darko's struggles with mental health, including daily "severe pain," have led him to this choice, as he states in an emotional Instagram video from December. To share his experiences, Awuah-Darko initiated "The Last Supper Project," inviting strangers to dine with him and discuss his journey. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, bipolar disorder causes severe mood and energy fluctuations that often exacerbate external pressures like financial burdens and societal expectations. In his posts, he emphasizes that while life is valuable, the weight of his condition has become unbearable. Awuah-Darko's upcoming book, “Dear Artists,” will be published this spring, with all royalties going to a mental health charity, as he also prepares to sell his art collection and conclude personal affairs prior to his planned euthanasia.

A UK teenager, Nicholas Prosper, has been sentenced to a minimum of 49 years in prison for the murders of his mother and two siblings, alongside a shocking plot to commit a school massacre. The 19-year-old carried out the killings at their Luton home in September 2024, using a shotgun to kill his mother, Juliana Falcon, 48, and fatally stabbing his siblings, sister Giselle, 13, and brother Kyle, 16, causing over 100 knife wounds to Kyle. During sentencing, Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb highlighted Prosper’s ambition for notoriety, stating he wanted to be the "world's most famous school shooter." Prosper had planned an attack on his former primary school, aiming to surpass the death tolls of infamous US shootings, and was arrested only after a struggle with his mother alerted neighbors. The court was informed that Prosper exhibited traits of Autism Spectrum Disorder and had become preoccupied with violent online content after his expulsion from school in 2023. Bedfordshire police officials expressed their shock over the incident, while Prosper's father described the family's loss as irreparable.