Britain’s National Crime Agency has warned of an “unprecedented risk” to young people from online groups that encourage teenagers to share sadistic and misogynistic material and to coerce others into sexual abuse, self-harm or violence.

The agency, which is responsible for combating serious and organized crime in Britain, said Tuesday in an annual assessment of crime trends that reports of incidents related to the threat from online groups increased sixfold between 2022 and 2024 in Britain and warned of significant numbers of victims being groomed or blackmailed.

“Young people are being drawn into these sadistic and violent online gangs, where they are collaborating at scale to inflict, or incite others to commit, serious harm,” said Graeme Biggar, director general of the agency, in a statement.

He added, “These groups are not lurking on the dark web, they exist in the same online world and platforms young people use on a daily basis,” and noted that young girls were being “groomed into hurting themselves and in some cases, even encouraged to attempt suicide.”

The agency’s National Strategic Assessment for 2024 said that while adults were involved in these communities or networks, it was especially concerned about teenage boys often sharing sadistic and misogynistic material and targeting girls as young as 11.