All of us in the development team have recently had the unpleasant task of turning our attention to the dark underbelly of the internet – the world of online sexual predators. 

Lisa's training with Tony Domaille certainly opened her eyes further to the full extent of the problem – and to what lengths professionals are going in order to monitor and control the situation.  Most of us in the office have also watched the recent Panorama documentaries - One click from Danger and One click from Capture.  The planned changes put forward by Justice Minister Maria Eagle to the The Obscene Publications Act therefore comes as welcome news. 

The Act currently makes it illegal to sell or distribute photos of child abuse but it is still legal to own drawings and computer-generated images.  The plans, if implemented, will criminalise the latter too, with a penalty of up to three years in prison for owning any images of child abuse.

Having spoken to a number of people about this I was surprised at how many dismissed the issue of online predation as an uncommon problem, hyped up by a media eager to sensationalise any story.  Thinking back, I was as equally sceptical a few months ago before I began looking into the problem as part of my job. 

Unfortunately I think that in this instance the stats don't lie – they only show the tip of the iceberg:

*  Over 13 million child sex abuse images and videos have been assessed by the NCMEC since 2002.

*  5million of the above images were collected in the last year alone.

*  An average of 400 reports a month of sexual abuse online are recorded by the CEOP.

To me, the link between the wide distribution of pornography via the internet, and the rise in sexual abuse – on and offline – seems too obvious to ignore.  Explicit images and messages have become part of the irritating load of spam that collects in most people's junk email folders, yet the sheer weight of it is feeding a hungry market.  In essence, the internet has normalised pornography to such an extent that individuals already at risk of sexually offending have a ready outlet for their desires.  

This is why I believe that restricting the dissemination of child abuse images should be of utmost priority to the entire industry – ISPs, IM services, large file sharing companies like Pando and social networking sites to name but a few.

*Sources
CEOP
NCMEC
BBC

Following on from Lisa's last post, I came across an article that really brought home the scale of online sexual abuse.

According to Tom Lloyd at Youth Work News, "the number of people arrested for child sex offences has tripled in the last year.

Last Wednesday I had the opportunity to attend a full days' training on e-safety and child protection in relation to online chat facilities and forums. The session was hosted by Tony Domaille of David Niven Associates and the session was not only interesting and useful but also quite an eye-opener.

Tony worked as a police officer for over 30 years as a Detective Sergeant for the Child Protection Department and the last four years working on the Dangerous Offenders Unit concentrating on sexual exploitation of children through the Internet, so he's more than used to dealing with the issue of paedophilia. I was, on the other hand, very naive and completely unaware of the lengths these people will go to in order to carry out their fantasies and that they are generally very respected and trusted members of our community.

We're working with 3 local authorities on web sites which publicise positive activities for young people and include interactive chat facilities. Bath and North East Somerset council (B&NES) have enlisted the help of Tony to ensure that the moderators of the site are fully trained to recognise any misuse of the site. This includes not only being aware of sexual predators and how to deal with them, but also online bullying, cries for help in relation to issues such as suicide or anorexia, and discrimination against others in terms of things like racism or sexuality.

The actual website has also been enhanced by a number of e-safety features to ensure it's as easy as possible for users to report anything that they're concerned about as well as to deter potential predators. Some of the enhancements are:

• Link to Think U Know, which informs on how to have fun, stay in control and how to report online abuse. 
• Link to the Virtual Global Task Force, which includes information on how to report abuse and provides a template for reporting. The reports reach appropriate authorities via the Child Exploitation On-line Protection Centre (CEOP) who disseminate reports/referrals. 
• Link to directly contact site moderators. 
• Inclusion of House rules for use of the site and forum. 
• Internet Protocol (I.P) address to be captured at the point of registration. 
• The email address provided on registration will be verified before the user is able to use the site.  

The new website - B-Active - is due to go live at the end of April.

The media have all jumped on the same bandwagon this week, with reports condemning social networking sites - such as Bebo and Facebook - as unsafe websites for children to surf. 

Publishing of the Byron report at the end of March seems to have precipitated this avalanche of comment.  Its author, Dr. Tanya Byron, clearly points out the vital role that parental control needs to play in keeping children safe.  The notion of "nurturing a shared culture of responsibility" is also explored, along with empowering children themselves to make safe decisions online.

The impact of this report will take some time to sink in, affecting as it does the gaming industry, social networking sites, schools, central government and the consciences of all concerned parents.

The consequences for our own business relate specifically to this notion of shared responsibility.  All websites we've designed for young people have firm 'house rules' to protect users from harrassment; moderators of our forums are trained to recognize online abuse by experienced professionals; we also provide clear links to information and policing sites that both discourage potential predators and give guidance to young people wishing to stay safe online.  Yet there will always be new ways in which safe use of the internet can be promoted, something that the Bryon Report has helped to highlight in the minds of the general public.

Related Sites:

Virtual Global Taskforce

Think You Know?