Online Abuse advice
Online abuse advise for professionals working with young
people
Sexual Communication with a child under the age of 16 –
new offence
Section 67 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 inserts a new offence
into the Sexual Offences Act 2003, at section 15A, criminalising
sexual communication with a child.
This new classification criminalises conduct of an adult who
intentionally communicates with a child under the age of 16 (whom
the adult does not reasonably hold the belief for them to be aged
16 or over) with the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification if
that communication is sexual in nature or it’s intent is to
encourage that child to make a communication that is sexual.
Situations that will be covered by the offence include talking
sexually to a child in an online chatroom, sexually explicit SMS
text messages to a child along with inviting a child to communicate
sexually ( whether the invitation itself is sexual or not ).
The new offence is designed to ensure that it does not
criminalise ordinary social or educational interactions between
children and adults or communications between young people
themselves in an ever increasing age of technology and mobile
communication and improves the law substantially as prior to this
new offence, sexualised communication with children that was text
based was not actually a criminal offence on its own unless paired
with an actual attempt to meet up with a child.
From 3 April 2017, any adult caught breaking the law will face
up to two years in prison and be automatically placed on the sex
offenders register. The law will cover both online and offline
communication, including social media, e-mail, and letters.
We live in an age where children live their lives through social
media, so it's important that they are educated about how to stay
safe online and parents are aware of their children's use of social
media, sites and apps.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/circular-201701-sexual-communication-with-a-child-implementation-of-s67-of-the-serious-crime-act-2015
Online abuse
The UK Safer Internet Centre published advice for professionals
who are concerned about cyberbullying. Resources include
information on legal requirements for schools and colleges and
links to online resources on bullying.
Source:
UK Safer Internet Centre Date: 15
November 2017
Think U Know offers advice on internet safety - click on
this link to go to their website
New Thinkuknow Professionals website - click here for
the new website
FaceBook
Safety@Facebook
Policies, tools and resources to keep you safe. Click here to go to their
website
The Lucy Faithfull Foundation has launched a
new campaign to deter people from viewing child abuse images
online. The Stop it now resources include information and support
to help users of online abuse images cope with difficult emotions
and change their behaviour. Further information can be found on
their website
Influence of images and videos in young people’s digital
lives
The UK Safer Internet Centre has published a report looking
into the role and influence of images and
videos in young people’s digital lives and the influence this
can have on their self-esteem, behaviour and emotions. Findings
from a survey of 1,500 young people aged 8-17 years old in the UK
include: 70% said they have seen images and videos not suitable for
their age in the last year; 22% said that someone has posted an
image or video to bully them; and 45% of 13-17 year olds have seen
nude or nearly nude photos of someone they know being shared around
their school or local community.
Date: 07 February 2017
Further information: Power
of image report (PDF)
Online safety guides
The UK Safer Internet Centre has launched a series of online
safety guides for professionals working with children including
social workers, healthcare professionals, residential care settings
and governors/trustees. The guides provide tailored advice in a
range of topics including: roles and responsibilities in relation
to online safeguarding; understanding the latest technologies and
trends; managing online safeguarding incidents; supporting
children, young people, parents, carers. Click
here
Date: 13 July 2017