Posted Thursday 3 February 2011
Known as the European Online Grooming Project, the research has been carried out by Professors Julia Davidson and Antonia Bifulco, from Kingston University, in partnership with NatCen and universities in Belgium, Italy and Norway. The findings present new challenges for social networking sites, the Metropolitan Police, government departments and leading children's charities. Early results show that there are at least three distinct types of groomer, which researchers have labelled "distorted attachment", "adaptable offender" and "hyper-sexual".
The new evidence suggests even more needs to be done to help young people stay safe online. Professor Stephen Webster, lead researcher from NatCen, said: "The adoption by social networking sites of a panic button and the work being done to raise young people's awareness of online risk is excellent, but this research tells us that taking a 'one size fits all' approach is no longer enough. We want the launch of these findings to mark the start of a new phase in how we respond to this issue."
The three types of online grooming behaviour identified in the study of offenders are:
"Distorted Attachment": This type of groomer thinks he is in a romantic and consenting relationship with the young person he is grooming. Contrary to traditional assumptions about online grooming behaviour, this style of offender in the sample did not use indecent images of children and didn't try to hide his identity. This type of groomer tends to spend a long time socialising with a young person online, getting to know them before arranging a meeting in real life.
"Adaptable Offender": This type of groomer can use lots of different identities online and adapts his style of grooming depending on the character, presentation and circumstances of the young person he is in contact with. He views the people he is grooming as sexually mature and may or may not use indecent images as part of the grooming process. He won't necessarily attempt to meet his victim in real life.
"Hyper-Sexual": This type of groomer is engaged in sharing and acquiring extensive numbers of indecent images of children. He will be in touch with other sexual offenders online, but tends to have little or no interest in meeting his victim in real life. This type of groomer will probably use different identities or a sexually explicit profile name and photo. The offending style of these groomers tends to be characterised by fast contact with the young person.
The researchers will now host workshops with young people, parents and teachers to develop recommendations for how education about online safety can be improved in light of the findings from the European Online Grooming Project.
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