Online Risk to Children

Jon Brown is Head of Strategy and Development for The NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children). He is a qualified Social Worker with a Masters in Social Policy from the London School of Economics. Before joining the NSPCC, he served as Operational Director of Children's Services for Action for Children. From 2003-2007 he was Chair of the National Organization for the Treatment of Abusers, and he remains on their National Executive Committee. He is also a Trustee of the Loudoun Trust, a Board member of eNACSO (European NGO Alliance for Child Safety Online), and a peer reviewer for the Economic and Social Research Council.

Foreword xi

Anne Longfield

About the Contributors xiii

Acknowledgements xvii

Introduction 1
Jon Brown

1 A Brief History of Child Safety Online: Child Abuse Images on the Internet 5
John Carr

Unintended, Unforeseen and Unwanted Consequences 5

Sexual Images of Children 6

The World Wide Web Explosion 7

Affordability, Accessibility and Anonymity – The Three As – Provide The Spur 8

The Number of Arrests and Police Operations Start to Climb 9

The Emergence of Hotlines 10

The Birth of the Internet Watch Foundation 12

Not a Very Promising Start 15

The Terrain Shifts and URL Blocking Emerges 16

Technology Comes to the Rescue of a Problem Technology Helped to Create 18

The Role of Search Engines 19

The Unanswered Questions about Technical Solutions 19

2 Children’s and Young People’s Lives Online 23
Sonia Livingstone

Trends in Children’s Internet use 24

Parental Responses and Responsibilities 25

Digital Skills as Mediators—Why is it Hard to Get This Right? 27

The Emerging Balance of Opportunities and Risks 28

Evidence]Based Implications for Policy and Practice 30

Conclusion 32

3 Cyberbullying and Peer]Oriented Online Abuse 37
Andy Phippen

Perspectives on Online Child Protection From Parents 39

Policy Responses and ‘Prevention’ Mechanisms 41

Growing up in the Online World 43

4 Offender Behaviour 55
Helen C. Whittle and Catherine Hamilton-Giachritsis

The Impact of the Online Environment 56

Offending Online 57

Comparison with Offline Offenders 65

Gaps in Our Knowledge 67

Conclusion 67

5 Treatment of Online Offenders: Current Best Practice and Next Steps 73
Sandy Jung

Online Sex Offenders: Characteristics and Comparisons with Contact Offenders 74

Typology of Online Offenders 77

Theories of Online Offending 79

Intervention Best Practices with Online Sex Offenders 81

Conclusion 90

6 The Impact of Online Sexual Abuse on Children and Young People 97
Elly Hanson

Overview of Online Sexual Abuse 98

The Impact of Child Sexual Abuse 102

Characteristics of CSA that Affect Impact 104

Social Contextual Factors that Affect Impact 104

Social and Psychological Processes Following Abuse 106

Complexities to Online Sexual Abuse 106

Salient Factors Underpinning Impact 111

Promoting Resilience, Reducing Impact, Fostering Recovery 116

Research Directions 117

Conclusion 117

7 Promising Therapeutic Approaches for Children, Young People and their Families Following Online Sexual Abuse 123
Elly Hanson

Effective and Promising Treatment Approaches for Problems in Childhood Arising from Sexual Abuse 124

Key Targets for Change in Therapy 127

Promising Methods of Fulfilling Key (Overlapping) Therapeutic Aims 130

Engagement and Building a Strong Therapeutic Relationship 131

Developing Positive Body Esteem and Sexuality 133

Reducing the Impact of Abuse Images Circulating and the Threat of This 133

Overcoming Shame and Self]Blame; Building Pride and Mastery 135

Facilitating Support from Families 136

Conclusion 137

8 Preventing Child Sexual Abuse Online 143
Stephen Smallbone and Richard Wortley

Organising Prevention Strategies 144

Prevention Strategies 146

Primary Prevention 146

Secondary Prevention 150

Tertiary Prevention 154

Conclusion 158

9 Promoting Child Protection Principles in Complex Abuse Investigation Involving Online Offending 163
Zoe Hilton

Definitions 164

Key Principles for Operational Activity 165

Incorporating Child Protection Principles into Operational Planning 166

Principles of Working 166

Capacity and Capability Building 170

Operational Examples 171

Annex 1 173

10 Staying Safe Online 177
Dido Harding

Technology Is Changing the Rules – or Is It? 177

Embracing Opportunities 178

Industry’s Responsibility 180

Industry Action 181

The Future Challenge 186

11 UK Policy Responses and Their International Relevance 189
Claire Lilley

Definitions and Terminology 190

Legislation 190

Removal of Child Abuse Content 193

Multi]Agency Approaches 195

The Role of NGOs 197

Policing Response 198

Offenders 202

Victims 205

Recent Developments 206

Conclusion 210

12 The Role of Schools in Children’s Online Safety 217
Martin Waller

Online Technologies and Education 218

The Blurring of Boundaries 219

E]Safety and Moral Panics 222

Integrating Online Technologies 223

Implications 227

Conclusion 228

Epilogue 231

Jon Brown

Index 235