Online Coercion, Self-Harm and ‘Com’ Groups: What Safeguarding Professionals Need to Know
A recent National Crime Agency (NCA) case provides a stark reminder of how quickly online relationships can develop into serious abuse, coercion and exploitation and why safeguarding practice must continue to evolve alongside the online environments children and young people inhabit.
On 10 August 2026, a 20-year-old man from Leeds was sentenced to two years in prison following an NCA investigation into a campaign of online abuse involving 117 female victims worldwide, aged between 13 and 17. Eight of the identified victims were in the UK.
The offender was found to have been operating within what the NCA describes as a ‘Com’ group, an online community in which individuals commit serious criminality, including coercing victims into sexual activity and self-harm. These groups can operate internationally and use everyday online spaces, including messaging apps, social media and gaming platforms.
Abuse that moves between online and offline harm
The case demonstrates why we must move beyond thinking about online safeguarding as something separate from other forms of abuse.
Investigators found evidence of victims being pressured into sexual activity and self-harm, including carving offenders' online aliases into their bodies. In one case, the offender obtained a young person's name, home address and school details and used personal information and intimate material as part of his coercion.
The NCA explains that status and notoriety within the online group can be a significant driver for this type of offending, with harmful material shared among members.
For safeguarding professionals, this raises an important question:
Would we recognise the indicators if we didn't know what was happening online?
A young person may present with self-harm, anxiety, changes in behaviour, withdrawal, fear around their phone, increased secrecy or distress without initially explaining the online coercion sitting behind those behaviours.
This is where professional curiosity becomes critical. Rather than viewing an individual concern in isolation, practitioners need to consider what else may be happening in the young person's life, including their relationships and experiences online.
The importance of trusted adults
One of the most important messages from the NCA's response is the role of trusted adults.
Children and young people are more likely to disclose concerns when they believe they can speak openly without being blamed or judged.
That means safeguarding cannot rely solely on teaching children about online risks.
We must also create environments where they feel safe enough to tell us when something has gone wrong.
For organisations working with children and young people, this means ensuring staff understand:
how online coercion and exploitation can develop;
the relationship between online abuse, sexual exploitation and self-harm;
how to respond calmly and appropriately to disclosures;
the importance of professional curiosity when behaviour changes;
how to record and escalate concerns effectively; and
why safeguarding conversations must avoid blame or judgement.
RLB reflection
Cases such as this demonstrate how rapidly safeguarding threats are evolving. The platforms may change. The language used by offenders may change. The communities in which abuse takes place may change.
But the foundations of effective safeguarding remain remarkably consistent: notice, listen, remain curious, record, share and act.
Organisations must ensure that their safeguarding training, policies and risk assessments reflect the reality that a significant part of children's lives now takes place online. Digital safeguarding cannot simply be an annual online-safety conversation. It needs to form part of our everyday understanding of exploitation, self-harm, harmful relationships, coercive behaviour and contextual safeguarding.
Most importantly, children and young people need adults around them who notice when something changes and who are prepared to ask the next question.