6.4 Safeguarding Children Board E-Safety Policy |
Contents
- Recognition and Response
- Managing the Risk Posed by New Technologies
- Bullying and Other Forms of Abuse of Children Online
- Further Guidance and Support
1. Recognition and Response
Professionals in all agencies working with children, adults and families should be alert to the possibility that:
- A child may already have been / is being, abused and the images distributed on the internet or by mobile telephone;
- An adult or older child may be grooming a child for sexual abuse, including for involvement in making abusive images. This process can involve the child being shown abusive images;
- An adult or older child may be viewing and downloading child sexual abuse images
Concern about children or adults |
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| 1.2 | A professional who has a concern should discuss this with their line manager and / or their agency's nominated safeguarding children adviser. A concern should be shared even where there is no evidence to support it. |
| 1.3 | Where the concerns involve a particular child or children, a referral should be made to Children's Social Care as set out in the Referrals Procedure. Where specific children are identified as abused in the production of images a Section 47 Enquiry should be carried out as set out in Section 47 Enquiries and Core Assessments Procedure. |
| 1.4 | Professionals should be aware that the child may not want to acknowledge his/her involvement or admit its abusive nature, and may resist efforts to be offered protection. This should not be a deterrent and agencies will in such cases need to work together closely in order to continue to monitor and assess the nature and degree of any risk to the child. |
| 1.5 | The Police should ensure that checks are made with regard to the subject adult and any other suspected adults, their contact with other children and other activities involving children. This is in order to identify existence of organised abuse or abuse of children through sexual exploitation. If these are identified, then the procedures relating to sexually exploited children (Protocol for Joint Working with Young People at Risk of Sexual Exploitation (including the CARE Panel)) and Complex (Organised or Multiple) Abuse Procedure should be followed. There should also be a liaison with the Child Exploitation Investigation Team (Lloyd House). The Police can draw upon powers to seize communication materials in specified circumstances where the level of evidence would support an application to do so. |
| 1.6 | Where there is concern about an adult but there is no identifiable child, a referral should be made to the Police, who must consider the possibility that the individual might also be involved in the active abuse of children. Their access to children should be established, including family and work settings, and a referral made to Children's Social Care. |
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| 1.7 | Professionals in all agencies should be aware of any indications amongst their colleagues of accessing abusive images. They should follow the procedures for Allegations of Abuse against Persons who Work with Children (including Allegations of Abuse against Persons who Work with Children (including Allegations against Carers and Volunteers) Procedure). It is important that individuals suspected of accessing, creating or downloading indecent images of children are not alerted prior to the police undertaking their investigations as they may destroy computer evidence at work or home. This has implications for managing allegations against people who work with children and means individuals may not be fully informed of reasons for their suspension. |
| 1.8 | Research into investigations of adults accessing child abuse images has identified that professional staff accessing such images may have access to children both in their occupation and in their personal lives. |
| 1.9 | In such cases, the Strategy Discussion will consider the need to assess risk both in relation to the occupation and in relation to the risk to any child within the family of the individual concerned (see Paragraph 2.9 below). |
| 1.10 | Consideration will also need to be given to safeguarding action required in relation to any other child related activities in which the individual may be involved. |
| 1.11 | Human resources and IT professionals should be aware of the new legal framework created by the Sexual Offences Act 2003 for managing potentially illegal child abuse images, specifically in relation to securing and not distributing images (see the ACPO and CPS Memorandum of Understanding). |
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| 1.12 | The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) brings together law enforcement officers, specialists from children's charities and industry to tackle online child sexual abuse. CEOP provides a dedicated 24 hour online facility for reporting instances of online child sexual abuse. |
2. Managing the Risk Posed by New Technologies
| 2.1 | As with many new or emerging technologies, the Internet has brought unfamiliar challenges, some of which create actual or potential dangers for children and young people. |
| 2.2 | Whilst offering revolutionary advances in communication, the main risks are in relation to sexual exploitation and the use of technology to bully and record physical abuse. In addition to the dangers of sexual exploitation, new technologies can also provide a medium for physical abuse and bullying, coercion, grooming and facilitating organised crime. |
| 2.3 | New technologies have offered children and young people revolutionary advances in communication with their peers and with the world. However, they also afford an opportunity for misuse and abuse. |
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| 2.4 | Children and young people often access adult sexual material, including images. However, the persistent viewing of material which is degrading, violent or sadistic or beyond the realms of normal curiosity can affect how young people can think about intimacy, themselves and their values and attitudes towards relationships and sexual development. It may be a way of demonstrating 'preferred' or 'fantasised' sexual activity. Adult sexual material can also be used by adults or young people as part of a grooming process. |
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| 2.5 | Children can be sold online via bulletin boards and chat rooms on the Internet. If illegal advertising of children for sex is discovered, the police should make a concerted effort to ensure that not only are the sites shut down but also to identify both victim and perpetrator. Covert police activity may well be required in order to infiltrate such sites. Police should consider seeking advice from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) - and the Child Exploitation Investigation Team (Lloyd House). Further advice can be sought from the Internet Watch Foundation . This is usually a highly calculated and planned sexually abusive activity as it requires the perpetrator to alert online peers of his/her intention to abuse on a set date and time. Payment for this activity may involve money or take the form of bartering for other indecent images or drugs. If a Section 47 Enquiry is undertaken, careful consideration should be given as to how the child will be interviewed to avoid any reinforcement of the abuse i.e. video interviewing. |
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| 2.6 | New technologies such as chat rooms, MSN and SMS are often used by those wanting to sexually exploit children and young people. These young people are often vulnerable and known to statutory agencies such as Children's Social Care and/or Health, and supported by voluntary organisations. They may be coping with other issues such as drugs, alcohol dependency or homelessness. For more information see Protocol for Joint Working with Young People at Risk of Sexual Exploitation (including the CARE Panel). |
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| 2.7 | Children can be coerced to take part in sexual activity online by abusers who employ specific conversational techniques. The grooming process is no different from that used by abusers offline. However, the whole abusive episode takes place online without physical contact between the child and perpetrator. When discovered, children will often deny any such activities, due to both the grooming process and the shame that many children feel when discovered doing something that have been told not to reveal and about which they feel deep humiliation and fear. The interviewing process must be sensitively handled, to give the young person permission to describe what has happened. The interviewers should be very clear with the young person that responsibility lies with the abuser and reaffirm for the child that the abuse is not their fault. If a Section 47 Enquiry is undertaken, careful consideration should be given as to how the child will be interviewed to avoid any reinforcement of the abuse i.e. video interviewing. |
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| 2.8 | ACPO does not support the prosecution or criminalisation of children for taking indecent images of themselves and sharing them. Being prosecuted through the criminal justice system is likely to be distressing and upsetting for children, especially if they are convicted and punished. The label of ‘sex offender’ that would be applied to a child or young person convicted of such offences is regrettable, unjust and clearly detrimental to their future health and wellbeing. ACPO considers that a safeguarding approach should be at the heart of any intervention. This approach is informed by Section 1(1) of the Children Act 1989, which states that within the context of any statutory intervention the welfare of the child is paramount. This approach is reinforced by Section 11 of the Children Act 2004, which places a duty on key persons and bodies to make arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Clearly some self-taken indecent images will be as a result of grooming and facilitation by adult offenders. The primary purpose of police involvement in these cases should be to ensure that the potential contact with adult exploiters is properly explored. As per Department for Education guidance, the focus of investigations should not be on the behaviour of children who have been the victims of abuse or exploitation but on the adult offenders who ‘coerce, exploit, and abuse children and young people’ |
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| 2.9 | Police and Children's Social Care must consider not only the offences committed by the adult but also the protection needs of children within the household. Such an assessment would need to include:
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| 2.10 | Although some children plan to and purposefully download these images, others have been forced to do so by peer group pressure or introduced to these sites by predatory adults as part of grooming for sexual abuse. ‘Sexting is also becoming common amongst young people and can have serious emotional and psychological effects, as well as legal consequences. (Also see Children who Sexually Abuse Other Children). |
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| 2.11 | It is an offence to groom a child and a breach of this legislation requires only:
Concerns for children and young people who may be vulnerable to abuse (direct or indirect) should be assessed in response - as to whether he or she may be a Child in Need and/or at risk of Significant Harm. |
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| 2.12 | Children who are the subject of child abuse images may suffer incalculable trauma which may affect them for the rest of their lives. Perpetrators often use strategies to inhibit children disclosing the abuse: children may be shown abusive images of other children or their own abusive images in an attempt to normalise the activity; encourage children to place images of themselves or friends online; encouraged to be proactive in either their own sexual abuse or that of other children. |
| 2.13 | Pseudo images may be created of particular children by the technological manipulation of existing photographs, art or cartoons. These images often have the same impact on the victim as non-pseudo images. |
3. Bullying and Other forms of Abuse of Children Online
| 3.1 | Children can be subject to non-sexual forms of abuse such as 'happy slapping' and recorded physical assaults. Young people may also become involved, either willingly or unwillingly, in sites that encourage self-harm, humiliation, hatred or suicide. |
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| 3.2 | "Bullying may be defined as deliberately hurtful behaviour, usually repeated over a period of time, where it is difficult for those bullied to defend themselves. It can take many forms but the main types are:
The damage inflicted by bullying can frequently be underestimated. It can cause considerable distress to children, to the extent that it affects their health and development or, causes them significant harm (including self-harm). All settings in which children are provided with services or are living away from home should have in place rigorously enforced anti-bulling strategies." Paragraph 11.39, Working Together 2006 "Emotional abuse ….may involve serious bullying (including cyber bullying) causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children". Paragraph 1.34, Working Together 2010 |
| 3.3 | Bullying through technology can be devastating for the victim and, unlike in the real world, the victim can be targeted at any time day or night, home or school or anywhere they go |
| 3.4 | Bullying can include emotional and/or physical harm to such a degree that it constitutes Significant Harm. For more information, see Recognition of Significant Harm Procedure and Bullying Guidance. |
| 3.5 | Professionals in all agencies should be alert to bullying and competent to support and manage both the victim and the abuser. |
| 3.6 | Staff should be supported by locally agreed thresholds and single agency policies to combat bullying (see the WSCB Anti Bullying Charter, Policy and Standards). In the more serious cases, these should include discussion with the agency's nominated safeguarding adviser and making a referral to Children's Social Care Services. Separate referrals for assessment and support should be made in respect of both the child victim and child abuser. |
| 3.7 | Where the bullying may involve an allegation of crime (assault, theft, harassment) a referral should be made to the police at the earliest opportunity. |
| 3.8 | Information about good practice in anti-bullying strategies (real & virtual) for schools can be accessed at the Department for Education website. |
4. Further Guidance and Support
4.1 For professionals
ACPO Child Protection and Abuse Investigation (CPAI) Group – ACPO CPAI Lead’s Position on Young People Who Post Self-Taken Indecent Images.
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) brings together law enforcement officers, specialists from children's charities and industry to tackle online child sexual abuse. CEOP provides a dedicated 24 hour online facility for reporting instances of online child sexual abuse
Childnet International - This is an organisation, which works with partners around the world to try and ensure that children and young people are protected from the dangers of the Internet.
Barnardo's "Just One Click" Report - Barnardo's website
The Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) was created in 2003 as a direct response to lessons learned from investigations into online child abuse around the world. It is an international alliance of law enforcement agencies working together to make the Internet a safer place.
Preventing and Tackling Bullying at the Department for Education website.
Internet Watch Foundation - This is an organisation, which works with the Police and Internet Service Providers to trace those responsible for putting harmful or illegal material on the web. It also encourages web surfers who find harmful or illegal material to report it.
Walsall Safeguarding Children Board
WMnet - Partnership for learning, providing online content and services in the Region over a broadband network. Profile, resources and news. Information, guidance and inspiration to support e-learning. A range of learning and teaching resources and software provided or supported by WMnet.
4.2 For children and young people
The Internet Task Force has created:
Think U Know - a website for young people full of information about staying safe online.
See also the Department for Education webite guidance, Child Internet Safety.
NCH, the Children's Charity, has produced advice for parents and children about Internet abuse 'Net Smart Rules'.
All of the above give advice to parents and children in terms of considering the dangers and managing the risks, as well as information about computer software and supervised chat rooms etc.
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