Summary

'Producing policy‑critical knowledge about the harms to women and girls caused by com‑networks: Accelerating beyond steps to strides in raising safeguarding awareness, risk prevention and reducing future victimisation' addresses the urgent and rapidly evolving threat posed by com networks, which create and protect spaces for extreme forms of violence to be committed.

These online-facilitated groups are led by adolescent violence-fixated males, predominantly invested in enacting extreme forms of gendered violence, including the production and sharing of materials involving and promoting sexual violence, misogynistic degradation and child sexual abuse. Girls and young women are specifically targeted for manipulation and coercion, using grooming techniques to coerce victims into committing physical and (sexual) self-harm and violence against others.

For instigators, eliciting violence is commonly ‘gamified’, with internal reward systems tied to elevated production of harms and circulation of incrementally extreme violent materials. Grave concerns have been raised by the UK National Crime Agency regarding both fusion between com networks, Incel and Far-right milieus and intentional targeting of individuals with underlying vulnerabilities, including those with SEND, neurodiverse conditions and/or mental health issues.