Whilst this is a difficult topic to discuss, it must be acknowledged and addressed. This page aims to provide advice about dealing with incidents of Predation, Grooming and how to stay safe online to prevent physical danger and sexual abuse.

The web is a market

Search engines use a range of techniques to find relevant sites in response to requests. Key words can be purchased in competitive auction based on a payment to the search engine company for each click made following a search. Where no sponsored link exists, searches are displayed in order of ‘hits’ or ‘number of times requested’. This means that in order to attract viewers, site owners will use whatever means they can to increase their ‘visibility’. This can be by the use of banner adverts on other more popular sites, or linking from sympathetic sites. There are marketing packages available from all search engine companies to raise visibility; however it is cheaper to use some of the free methods described.

Pop-ups

One method that was becoming increasingly popular was the use of the ‘pop-up’, where a visit to a site would trigger an advertisement in a new window. This has diminished considerably since Internet browsers started incorporated blockers to protect users.

Cookies

Cookies are small programs that install on your computer when you are browsing. The aim is to remember you so content can be personalised, or to get around the need to re-enter passwords. Some however instal software that constantly requests a particular (usually unsavoury) site. Incitement sites are a phenomenon that exploit human weakness and typically seek to amplify behaviours such as racial hatred, homophobia, racism, self harm, suicide etc.

Cyber-squatting

An area of special concern in education is where a child mis-types or mis-spells web addresses, and this is one of the most frequently reported reasons for viewing inappropriate, offensive, or obscene content. Web-sites that are designed to intercept wrong spelling are called 'cyber-squatters', and can intercept mis-typed addresses and take the viewer to the wrong site, or a domain registration company. Many of these also try to install adware and other malicious software, or even present adult content.

What should you do?

If somebody accesses inappropriate content, the best advice is to minimise the page and once the child is no longer looking, make a note of the URL address. This address can be reported to the School Network Manager for them to block from the school network. The address can also be reported to the Virtual Global Taskforce

Grooming / predation

Grooming (or predation) can be defined as ‘befriending a child by building a strong, trusting bond’, and is most often used to refer to an act of lowering a perceived inhibitory attitude of a child regarding sexual behaviour with an adult. The ‘groomer’ is sometimes referred to as a ‘chicken hawk’. Typically the grooming process involves showing pornography to the child to give the impression that sexual acts are normal, common or part of being ‘grown-up’.

The Sexual Offences Act 2003 s15(2) provides a clear offence, … after having met or communicated with a child on at least two earlier occasions, to meet, or travel to meet, the child with the intention of sexually abusing him or her on that occasion or later.

A crime may be committed even without a meeting actually taking place and without the child even being involved in the meeting (for example, if a police officer has taken over the contact and pretends to be that child).

Nurturing Internet friendships is not restricted to children, and there is frequent use of online chat, usually with the hope of real-life contact.

If you are concerned that you know someone who is becoming, or was a victim of predation or grooming, please report this to The Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre

There are many organisations who can provide advice and guidance on preventing access to inappropriate content and preventing/dealing with incidents of predation and grooming:

Virtual Global Taskforce

The Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre

Internet Safety Zone

Childline

NSPCC