Paedophiles
Eliminating ways for paedophiles to make contact with your children online
Although the internet didn't invent paedophilia, there is a lot of publicity about paedophile activity on the internet and it is true that the net gives paedophiles access to images of children and children themselves. When BT introduced software to block access from its internet users to paedophile sites, it intercepted 250,000 attempts in three weeks.
Your main worry should be chat rooms. Blocking access to unsupervised chat is a start, but paedophiles sometimes pretend to be children to make friends in supervised chat and then continue that relationship in personal conversations in the chat room (known as whispering). As the paedophile gains the child's confidence, contact will progress to more private methods like texting or the telephone. This is called grooming and is now punishable by law.
It is vital that kids know that not everyone on the net is actually who they claim to be. Make sure that they know never to give personal details in chat rooms or let people they have met in chat rooms contact them by phone or instant messaging. The internet isn't crawling with paedophiles. Don't panic. Be sensible to be safe.
What you can do...
- never allow your child to give out information which will let people they don't know contact them offline. However, there are times when it is appropriate to supply an email or real address. You need to use common sense about when it is OK, but tell you children to always check with you first
- if they have given their email address to a stranger, don't be too hard on them or they won't tell you next time but try to make sure they know never to do it again, and monitor any messages they get
- restrict online activity to moderated chat rooms which are designed for children
- learn the language of chat using our guide so you understand what your child is chatting about. Busy chat rooms can be hard to understand at first. Occasionally, they might want to meet a chat room friend. You must go along too people who seem pleasant and harmless online may not be who they say they are
- sign up for a chat room yourself. This way you will learn how they work and get to know the different ways children can chat. For example, along with public chat rooms there are also private areas where you can have one-to-one conversations. You should discourage your child from doing this. There is also Instant Messenger, a program that allows people to make immediate, real time contact with their 'friends' while they are surfing other sites. You should also learn to use Instant Messenger
- show the same interest in your children's online friends as their real life friends. Chat is a new arena in which children have to be aware that not everyone is to be trusted
- chat room friends, no matter how nice they seem, are still strangers in the real world. If your child wants to meet a chat room friend you should go along too. Be sure the new friend is genuine
- let your children know that they can tell you if any chat makes them feel uncomfortable, worried or scared. You need to let them know that you won't blame them. Keep to age-relevant and moderated chat rooms
- any problems, tell the moderator and contact the ISP of the site hosting the chat room
- if you suspect a paedophile may be grooming your child, or your child is being stalked or harassed, you should contact the local police
Next Steps
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