Online Risk to Children

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