Children are growing up online. We work to make that safer.
The Yellow Wood Project is a behavioural science research and intervention organisation working to understand and disrupt the pathways that lead children and young people towards harmful online content, before harm takes hold.
The Problem
11-13
Is the average age of first exposure to pornography
79%
Of young people see pornography depicting sexual violence before 18
70%
Of teenage children have seen real life violence online
59%
Of teens report their first exposure was accidental
Curiosity in adolescence is normal. But the internet children are growing up on was not designed with them in mind. Much of the content they encounter, often by accident, often very young, depicts violence, aggression, and exploitation. The research is clear: early unguided exposure during a critical window of neurological and sexual development can cause distress, shape attitudes, behaviours, and trajectories in ways that matter, for individuals, and for the people around them.
Sources: Children's Commissioner 2024 & 2025 reports; Youth Endowment Fund 2024; Regehr et al. 2024.
Why Early Intervention
The earlier we act, the more difference we can make.
Most responses to online harm wait until something has already gone wrong; a criminal referral, a clinical crisis, a victim. Or they depend on proactive help-seeking. What if someone doesn't know where to find support, or doesn't recognise they might need it?
Adolescence is when intervention is most powerful. The brain is still developing. Patterns of behaviour and arousal are still forming. Research on reoffending rates show clearly that early intervention with young people produces far better outcomes than equivalent work with adults. The window matters.
The Yellow Wood Project is focused on that window. Not on victims. Not on offenders. On children who are navigating a complex life period in a digital world without adequate guidance, and who, with the right support at the right moment, can be steered towards safer, healthier, and happier development.
We approach this work with empathy. These are children. They are not morally responsible for the environments they find themselves in, and sitgma is the enemy of help-seeking. Our approach is trauma-informed, non-judgemental, and grounded in evidence.
Our Approach
How we work
Understand
We use behavioural science frameworks to research and map the pathways through which children encounter harmful content. Not just what happens, but why, and what shapes the journey.
Intervene
Our research will inform early interventions designed to reach young people where they already are. Non-stigmatising, and informed by the evidence of what works with adolescents - including what they tell us.
Collaborate
We work with others across sectors and industry. We share what we learn and strengthen the collective response. No single organisation will solve this, we are committed to building the field as well as our own work.
