4.1.4 Child Abuse through the inappropriate use of the Internet and other Technology - Procedure, Guidance and Glossary |
Contents
Appendix 1: Legislation - Further Information
Procedure
Introduction
This procedure focuses on the use of abusive images/material as part of the sexual exploitation of children. The term ‘indecent’ image is used to convey the obscene nature of these images and corresponds with the legal definition of making, possession and distribution of abusive images of children.
The making, distribution and viewing of child sexual abuse images is instrumental in the on-going sexual abuse of children, within organised abuse (sexual exploitation, sex rings and trafficking), within and outside the family and with adults and children, both known and unknown. Online abuse cannot be separated from contact abuse of a child. A ‘child’ is defined as being under 18 years of age.
The growth in the distribution of child abuse images continues to rise (a UK Police operation conducted in 1998 seized over 750,000 images from one paedophile ring). Research shows that in the UK over 8 million children have access to the internet and a high proportion of these children (1 in 12), have physically met someone who they initially encountered in an online environment.
Computer technology, including web cams and mobile phones, is being used in the production and widespread distribution of images and pseudo images of the abuse of children from babies to teenagers.
Definitions and Legislation
The UK legislates against the production, distribution and possession of abusive images of children. It is an offence to take, permit to be taken, make, possess, show, distribute or advertise indecent images [photographs or pseudo-photographs] of children in the U.K. (Protection Of Children Act 1978 (England & Wales)).
An indecent image of a child is a visual record of sexual abuse of a child either through sexual acts by adults, other children or/which involves bestiality, or children posed in a sexually provocative way.
It is a serious arrestable offence to seek out images of child abuse. Making and possession of such images carry maximum sentences of 10 and 5 years respectively. The term ‘makes’ includes downloading images from the internet and storing or printing them out.
In England and Wales the Sexual Offences Act 2003 brought in new legislation, this included measures to deal with child grooming with a view to committing sex offences. For further information on this Act and the law relating to abuse of children via the Internet, please refer to Safeguarding Children and Young People using Information Communication Technology (ICT) Guidance.
Chatroom Grooming and Contact Abuse
Grooming of children online can be totally anonymous and done in a targeted way by an adult. The abuser develops a ‘special’ relationship with the child online, which remains a secret to enable an offline meeting to occur in order for the abuser to sexually harm the child. The abuser grooms online by finding out as much as s/he can about the potential victim, s/he establishes the risk and likelihood of the child telling, find out about the child’s family and social networks and, if safe enough, will isolate his/her victim, usually through bribes or threats, and gain control.
Abusers may use child sexual abuse images to break down the child’s barriers to sexual behaviour (and communicate to the child the abuser’s sexual fantasies). Repeated exposure to abusive images is intended to diminish the child’s inhibitions and give the impression that sex between adults and children is normal, acceptable and enjoyable.
There is again an additional dimension to the silencing of children who have been groomed in chatrooms. Children’s behaviour on the net is far less inhibited. They will talk about things and people and use language that they wouldn’t in their everyday lives and they are usually fearful of those close to them finding out what they have said.
Children who have been ‘duped’ into believing that their online contact is a ‘friend’ have a serious concern of their own peer group finding out that they have been ‘foolish’ enough to be conned in this way. The majority say they would have told no one about their abusive experiences.
Impact on Children
The impact on a child of hi-tech sexual abuse is similar to that for all sexually abused children. However, it has an additional dimension of there being a visual record of the abuse.
Children have great difficulty in talking about their abuse, some denying that it is their image even when there is categorical proof. The reasons for this include that children:
- Can experience intense feelings of powerlessness, knowing that there is nothing they can do about others viewing pornographic pictures/films of themselves (and sometimes their coerced sexual abuse of others) indefinitely
- Express concerns over how pornography will be viewed (i.e. people may believe that they enjoyed it or were complicit in its production)
- Are aware that the sexual abuse they endured to produce the pornography can be distributed commercially or non-commercially for the arousal of others. They are also aware that it can be used to groom and abuse other children
- Suffer in the knowledge that there is a permanent record of their sexual abuse and this knowledge has implications for the need for long-term support and treatment of the children to reflect the harm that indefinite circulation can cause.
Children may also be shown images of their own abuse by their abuser and they typically hold a personal responsibility for not stopping their own abuse and that of others involved. All these facets reflect the impact of the grooming process of the abusers who endeavour to make the child feel that it is their fault and that they could have stopped the abuse.
Access to inappropriate material
Exposure to abusive images whether on photographs, video, other new technology or the Internet can, in itself, be abusive to children.
Children are naturally curious and may well come across such images by accident or through swapping information with friends.
The best means of protection is prevention. All schools, libraries and other sites where children may access the Internet should have procedures in place, including the use of software to minimise such assess.
Children should also be encouraged to discuss openly their use of computer technology and anything, which makes them feel uncomfortable.
Where children or young people are identified as persisting in such access, or compiling large collections of abusive images, consideration should be given to whether they may be at risk, or may present a risk to others, particularly as constant exposure to abusive images of children can be a significant factor in disinhibiting potential abusers.
Recognition and Response
The fact that the knowledge and understanding of information technology in adults may be limited, particularly compared with that of children, can have a de-skilling effect on the adults involved in monitoring computer use or investigating concerns. The key issue is to remember that what is involved is child abuse – it is merely a new and developing medium that is used to assist the abuser.
To find out more information on the issues of illegally accessing child abuse images and how grooming occurs by using the Internet training visit:
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
Following discovery of Abusive Images and/or Access to Abusive Images by an adult
In the event that somebody is discovered to have placed abusive images on the Internet, or accessed abusive images, the police Child Abuse Investigation Unit (CAIU) will be informed. A strategy meeting should be held to include children’s social care and the relevant sections of the police. The meeting will consider:
- Whether the individuals concerned is, or could be, involved in the active abuse of children
- Whether he/she has access to children within family, work and social contexts
- What action should be taken in relation to the perpetrator(s) and any children to whom they have access
Concern about an Adult accessing/viewing child abuse (through the internet, dvds, videos, photographs etc)
Professionals may identify a concern through a relationship with a child or an adult, from visits to the family home or from information shared by the victim’s friends or family.
A professional who has a concern should discuss this with their line manager and/or their agency’s nominated child protection adviser. A concern should be reported to the police.
The Police must consider the possibility that the individual might also be involved in the active abuse of children and his/her access to children should be established, including family and work settings and a referral made to Children’s Social Care.
If you find concerning material on a computer or contained in other forms of communication, report the matter to your line manager who will in turn inform the police. The police will be in a position to seize the equipment and instigate an enquiry if necessary. It is advised not to go on line or use the equipment until it is examined by the police.
Concern about an Adult and particular Child/ren
Where the concerns involve a particular child or children, a referral should be made to Children’s Social Care. Where specific children are identified as abused in the production of images a Section 47 Enquiry (Child protection Enquiry) (see chapter 3 part 3) should be carried out, as with any other form of child abuse and the same structure of multi-agency consideration, planning and action should follow.
Professionals should be aware that for the reasons set out above under ‘Impact on Children’, 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 continue to work together closely in order to continue to monitor and assess the nature and degree of any risk to the child/ren.
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 and Organised and Complex Abuse should be followed.
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.
Allegations against Professionals
Professionals in all agencies should be aware of any indications amongst their colleagues of accessing abusive images and follow the procedure set out in Allegations of abuse made against a person who works with, or is in contact with children. See Allegations of abuse against a person who works with, or is in contact with children procedure.
Research into the investigations of adults accessing child abuse images have identified a number of professional staff accessing such images, who may have access to children through their occupations, as well as in their family lives.
In such cases a strategy meeting will identify the need for assessment of risk both in relation to the occupation and in relation to the risk to any child within the family. The former will be the primary responsibility of the employing agency. In order to assess whether someone who has accessed abusive images presents a risk to children in their own family an assessment is needed. This will consider:
- The type of images, nature of abuse, age of children involved etc
- Attitude of the offender, e.g. minimisation/justification/victim empathy
- Capacity of the child to self protect
- Attitude of other parent/carers and their capacity to protect the children
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 online if found on company servers.
Guidance
Information to assist good practice
Introduction
The Internet has, in particular, become a significant tool in the distribution of indecent photographs/pseudo photographs of children. Internet chat rooms, discussion forums and bulletin boards are used as a means of contacting children with a view to grooming them for inappropriate or abusive relationships, which may include a request to make and transmit pornographic images of themselves or to perform sexual acts live in front of a web cam. Children can also be vulnerable through setting up their own “profile” which can contain personal information and can be exploited.
Contacts made initially in a chat room are likely to be carried on via email, instant messenger services, mobile phone or text messaging. There is also growing cause for concern about the exposure of a child to inappropriate material via interactive communication technology e.g. adult pornography and/or extreme forms of obscene material.
Pseudo photographs, as referred to above means an image whether made by computer-graphics or other means, which can appear to be a photograph, for example a picture that is made up of one child’s face put on to another child’s body.
Another area of growing concern is children themselves engaging in text or Internet bullying and the use of mobile camera phones to capture violent assaults of others for circulation, also know as ‘happy slapping’.
Here are some of the ways young people can be vulnerable to abuse or bullying.
- Chat rooms - online meeting places, which are particularly popular with children and young people. Chat room conversations are typed and everyone else in the chat room can see the message. Some chat rooms allow mixed text based chatting with video and voice, using a web cam (Internet-based camera) and microphone.
- Newsgroups - where people leave messages for others to read.
- Internet clubs and communities - ways of exchanging information on topics of interest.
- Instant messaging - messages are sent instantly in much the same way as a text message is sent through mobile phones. Instant Messaging is usually more closely associated with a network of friends.
- Playing interactive games - these sites allow for communication between players.
- Mobile phones - Some mobile phones can be used to visit websites, including chat rooms. Some mobile phones can take photos, make mini film clips and send them via email.
- E-mails - Correspondence sent in electronic form via the World Wide Web. This may have an ‘attachment’ of written information or pictures/images.
- Blogging – An electronic online diary
Please refer to the glossary at the end of this document for other terms used and their meaning.
It is important to remember that the Internet and other forms of technology are fun and useful for young people, not only for entertainment and relating to their peers but also for enhancing knowledge.
This guidance should be used to raise awareness for professionals of the potential dangers for young people, however with appropriate dialogue and information giving to young people the risk can be reduced.
Risk to Children and Young People from the Internet
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.
The main dangers in relation to sexual abuse are:
- In relation to child pornography
- Through being groomed for the purpose of sexual abuse
- Through being exposed to unacceptable material on the Internet
Child Pornography
Abuse through child pornography can take the form of photographing, videoing or taking images of children and young people for a sexual purpose. This can include manipulating a child to take a picture of themselves and placing it on the internet. These pictures show the actual sexual abuse taking place, producing a permanent record of the child or young person’s exploitation and their circulation exacerbates the harm.
Scale of Child Pornography
There is general agreement that a huge increase has taken place in child pornography, due to the Internet. ‘Child Abuse, Child Pornography and the Internet’ (NCH 2004) states that the arrival of the Internet opened up new means of distributing images of the sexual abuse of children. In pre-Internet days Police seizures generally yielded only a handful of pictures. Today it is not uncommon for a single suspect to be arrested with tens of thousands of images on his computer.
Many paedophiles acknowledge that exposure to child abuse images fuels their sexual fantasies and plays an important part in leading them to commit hands-on sexual offences against children and young people. Because the Internet is facilitating larger numbers of individuals becoming involved in collecting and possessing child abuse images, it follows that it is highly likely that more children and young people are being abused than would otherwise have been the case.
Ray Wyre in ‘No Excuse for Child Porn’ (2003) notes that Police investigations have seen the arrests of hundreds of people on charges related to Internet child pornography, covering all sections of public and professional life - from priests, politicians and pop stars to police officers and social workers.
Risk from Users of Pornography
It is not always the case that a person who engages in the downloading of child pornography will automatically go on to commit a contact offence against a child or young person. However, there is evidence to support the view that there are facilitating factors (environmental, such as access to children and young people, as well as those pertaining to the individual, in terms of past history, etc.), which increase the likelihood of it being the case.
Pornography has been found to be used as an aid in generating inappropriate sexual fantasy; it normalises the fantasy and disinhibits the user. As the viewer becomes familiar and bored with the pornography, they seek out more ‘intense’ content. The combination of disinhibition, increased risk taking, entrenched cognitive distortions and the need to seek more intense experiences suggests the possibility of escalating behaviour into seeking opportunities for ‘real-life experiences’ and hands-on abuse. (Recognising that many images of child pornography are already images of hands-on abuse).
It is clear from some recently prosecuted cases (under the Sexual Offences Act 2003) that sex offenders are using the Internet to contact other sex offenders, groom children for abuse and are collecting indecent internet images of children (Davidson, J. 2007, Current Practise and Research into Internet Offending).
Assessment of Young People in possession of Child Pornography
Professor Max Taylor of the COPINE Project [Taylor, M. and Quayle, E. (2003) Child Pornography. An Internet Crime. Hove: Brunner-Routledge] notes that increasing numbers of young people are caught in possession of child pornography and that understanding this is difficult. However, he argues that equating these young people with adult paedophiles is not helpful, for the following reasons.
If a young person is in possession of pictures of children within their own age range, it may be thought undesirable, but understandable, as age appropriate exploration. If, as has happened, pictures of very much younger children are included in seized collections, this might be viewed as far more worrying.
Professor Taylor puts the case that risk taking and exploring limits may be particular factors for young people collecting this material. Further that these young people are themselves being brought into the framework of sexual exploitation, they should be seen primarily as victims rather than offenders and that they are at considerable risk.
Children who are already involved in a sexually abusive relationship may well be shown child pornography to normalise and facilitate their continued involvement in such an abusive relationship. Evidence of enticement - using child pornography - of children not already involved in an abusive relationship is less clear, but does occur. Child pornography is used in chat rooms as a medium for engagement in cybersex with children and adults, which can lead to offline meetings.
Professor Taylor says that we have no knowledge of the effect of early exposure to this kind of material on subsequent development of sexuality, but have to assume that it is a negative influence.
Grooming
‘Child Abuse, Child Pornography and the Internet’ NCH 2004, shows that the arrival of the Internet opened up new ways for paedophiles to reach and abuse children and young people. There is an increasing number of offences being committed, where chat rooms etc, can be used as a tool to groom unsuspecting children or young people for the sexual purposes of paedophiles.
Sex abusers, usually posing as children or teenagers, try to strike up a friendship and can ask a child or young person to move to a one-to-one chat (known as ‘whispering’). Alternative one-to-ones are by email, Instant Messaging or text messaging on a mobile phone.
The progression then is for the person to persuade the child or young person to eventually meet. In recent years there have been a number of reported cases where older men have built up relationships with children or young people by grooming them before trying to meet them.
Surfing the Internet from the comfort or safety of home, or through a mobile phone, can give a false sense of security. Children and young people can unwittingly give away personal details such as where they live or go to school, or begin to trust someone they don’t know and willingly give them personal contact details
Even if an adult is honest about their age, that is no guarantee of their good intentions. They could try to strike up a friendship over a shared interest, say football, and use it to meet a child or young person.
Although efforts are being made to combat the problem, Internet Service Providers (ISP) that host the chat rooms, have limited effectiveness in monitoring the activity on these sites.
Risk of Children/Young People being exposed to Pornographic Material
Children and young people can be very curious and may use the Internet (by computer or mobile phone) to view material they would otherwise never normally be able to see, which might be dangerous, pornographic, offensive or unacceptable in some other way. It is possible also via unsolicited web advertisements, or making a mistake on a web address, for children and young people to be exposed to this kind of material.
Cyberbullying
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 three main types are:
| Physical
Verbal Emotional |
- e.g. hitting, kicking, theft
- e.g. racist, homophobic remarks, threats, name calling - e.g. isolating an individual from the activities and social acceptance of their peer group |
The damage inflicted by bullying can be frequently underestimated. It can cause considerable distress to children, to the extent that it affects their health and development or, at the extreme, causes them significant harm (including self-harm). All settings in which children are provided with services or are living away from home should have enforced anti-bullying strategies, ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ HM Government 2006.
Mobile, Internet and wireless technologies have provided an opportunity for misuse through ‘cyberbullying’. It’s crucial that children and young people who are particularly skilful at adapting to new technology, use their mobile phones and the Internet safely and positively, and that they are aware of the consequences of misuse. School staff, parents and young people have to be constantly vigilant and work together to prevent this form of bullying and tackle it whenever it happens.
Unlike other forms of bullying, cyberbullying can follow children and young people into their private spaces and outside school hours, there is no safe haven for the person being bullied. Cyberbullies can communicate their messages to a wide audience with remarkable speed, and can often remain unseen and unidentifiable.
Sending threatening or bullying text messages is a criminal offence that the Police recognise as a crime.
For further information and guidance, please refer to the Coventry Anti Bullying Strategy document.
For further information on cyber-bullying follow the link below.
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/bullying/
World Wide Measures to Combat Internet Abuse
The Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) www.virtualglobaltaskforce.com 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.
The Virtual Global Taskforce delivers innovative crime prevention and crime reduction initiatives to prevent and deter individuals from committing online child abuse. Details of current and future initiatives are published on its website.
The website acts as a gateway to a wide range of information on how to use the Internet safely and links to a range of support agencies that can advise and support victims of abuse. It also sends out a clear message to those who use the Internet to search for and share images of child abuse, or approach children to groom them for sexual abuse, that law enforcement is active online and that the Internet is not an anonymous place. The aim, over time, is for the website to become a gateway to all relevant information about child protection online.
Childnet International www.childnet-int.org 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.
UK/England and Wales Measures to Combat Internet Abuse
Legal changes
In England and Wales the Sexual Offences Act 2003 brought in new legislation, including measures to try and deal with grooming (which may or may not be via the Internet).
National Centre for Child Protection on the Internet
Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre. Launched in April 2006, the CEOP Centre works across the UK and maximises international links to deliver a holistic approach that combines police powers with the dedicated expertise of business sectors, government, specialist charities and other interested organisations - all focused on tackling child sex abuse wherever and whenever it happens.
That means working with parents, young people and children to safeguard their online experiences. It includes direct support to victims and their families and involves the relentless tracking and prosecution of offenders.
Intelligence is the central thread that runs throughout the organisation. Whether it is the need to understand how the criminal mind works or how sex offenders strive to exploit all situations. Whether it is more about working with children and young people in order to reach and safeguard their online experience, everything the CEOP Centre does is driven by knowledge first and targeted action second.
Schools and the National Curriculum
It was announced that due to begin at the start of the 2006 academic year was the Introduction of Child Protection and the safe use of the Internet. As part of the Secondary PHSE National Curriculum Program the subject would be covered within classroom time in order to better educate and inform pupils across the key stages of education.
Police Powers
The Police have the power to close down any website or chat room which breaks the law. In most cases this relates to sites that contain obscene material or incite racism. Unfortunately, with more than a billion web pages in existence there are simply not enough officers to search out the owners of every illegal site. The Police work with the Internet Watch Foundation (see below). However, many sites are based abroad and therefore fall outside the jurisdiction of the British Police. Also, many sites are difficult to trace, as Internet Service Providers do not demand proof of identification when someone sets up a site.
Internet Watch Foundation
www.iwf.org.uk
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.
Mobile Phones
A number of major mobile phone firms, including Vodafone, Virgin and Orange, have brought in regulations to ensure a person is over 18 years old before selling them a mobile phone with unlimited access to the Internet.
Stop it Now Campaign
www.stopitnow.org.uk
Major children’s charities, including Barnardo’s, Childline, the Children’s Society, NCH and NSPCC are working together through the ‘Stop it Now’ campaign, aimed at ending child abuse via the Internet, and have produced ‘Child Safety Online: Digital Manifesto Summary – Children’s Charities Coalition for Internet Safety’.
Advice for Children, Young People and Parents
The Internet Task Force has created:
- thinkuknow.co.uk– a website for young people full of information about staying safe online.
- Keep Your Child Safe on the Internet – An online leaflet of practical guidance for parents and carers.
Both 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.
Appendix 1: Legislation - Further Information
| 1. | Children Act 1989 Section 17A child is defined as ‘in need’ by Section 17 of the Children Act (1989) if:
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| 2. | Children Act 1989 Section 47Where a local authority has reasonable cause to suspect that a child who lives, or is found, in their area is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm, the authority shall make, or cause to be made, such enquiries as they consider necessary to enable them to decide whether they should take any action to safeguard or promote the child’s welfare. ‘Harm’ is defined as Ill-treatment, which includes sexual abuse, physical abuse and forms of ill-treatment, which are not physical, for example:
This may include seeing or hearing the ill treatment of another (s120 Adoption and Children Act 2002). |
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| 3. | Obscene Publications Act 1959The Obscene Publications Acts 1959 states that an article shall be deemed to be obscene if its effect is such as to tend to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it. It is an offence, whether for gain or not, to publish an obscene article; or to have an obscene article in ownership, possession or control with a view to publishing it for gain (whether there is gain to himself or gain to another). |
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| 4. | The Protection of Children Act 1978This Act makes it an offence to take, or permit to be taken or make any indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child; to distribute or show such photographs; to possess them with a view of their being distributed or shown; or to publish, or cause to be published, any advertisement likely to be understood to convey that the advertiser distributes, or shows such indecent photographs, or intends to do so. A child for the purpose of this legislation is deemed as being under the age of 18 years. |
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| 5. | The Criminal Justice Act 1988Section 160 makes it an offence to possess an indecent photograph of a child for the meaning of this Act is a person under the age of 16. |
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| 6. | Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000This Act gives powers to courts to disqualify an individual who has committed a serious offence from working with children. Breach of such an order will itself be a separate criminal offence. For the purpose of Section 26 an individual commits an offence against a child if he/she commits any offence mentioned in paragraphs 1, 2, or 3 of Schedule 4 of this Act. Paragraph 1 of Schedule 4 to the Act is as follows:
Paragraph 2 of Schedule 4 to the Act is as follows:-
Paragraph 3 of Schedule 4 to the Act is as follows:
This Act also established the Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) and placed the arrangements for the protection of the community from the serious harm that some offenders may still present after being convicted. |
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| 7. | The Criminal Justice Act 2003This Act re-enacted and strengthened the MAPPA provisions essentially requiring the Police, prison and probation Services (acting jointly as the “Responsible Authority”) in 42 areas of England and Wales to establish arrangements for assessing and managing the risks posed by sexual and violent offenders; to review and monitor arrangements, to prepare and publish an annual report operation. The Act requires the Responsible Authority for the relevant area to work with a range of other agencies who have a duty to co-operate with the Responsible Authority. These include:
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| 8. | Sexual Offences Act 2003This Act undertook a complete revision of the law on sexual offences and introduced a total of 57 new offences. The protection of children was one of the primary objectives of the Act and therefore offences against the children are a major part of the legislation. Children under the age of 13 will not be capable in law of giving consent to any form of sexual activity. Sexual activity with children under the age of 13 years is treated as a “strict” liability offence, regardless of any consent or the state of mind of the accused. Development in technology and the Internet are also dealt with and for the first time, child grooming with a view to committing sex offences becomes a specific offence. This is based on increasing social fears of adults displaying inappropriate sexual behaviour by arranging a meeting via the Internet or text messaging with a child, with the intention of committing a sex offence. The offence of grooming therefore can be committed without any actual sex offence, and has been called a “mind-offence” as a result. The Act extends many existing offences and recognises that the majority of child abuse takes place within the family and sections 25 to 27 redefine family relationships to encompass anyone living in the same household as the child and assuming a position of trust or authority. This will therefore include stepparents, foster parents and adoptive parents. However, many of these offences duplicate those in previous sections. They elevate the abuse of trust from an aggravating feature to a specific part of the offence. Inappropriate adult relationships within the family are also legislated against, and for the first time, the term incest is not used, although the offence remains. Relevant sections in respect of children are:
The Act makes a number of amendments to a range of legislation. Relevant amendments are detailed below. The Act also amends Schedule 1 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 by substituting the entry relating to offences under the Sexual Offences Act 1956 as: “Any offence against a child or young person under any of sections 1 to 41, 47 to 53, 57 to 61, 66 and 67 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, or any attempt to commit such an offence. Any offence under section 62 or 63 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 where the intended offence was an offence against a child or young person, or any attempt to commit such an offence.” The Act also repeals The Indecency with Children Act 1960, so a s it ceases to have any effect. The Act also amends the Protection of Children Act 1978 as follows: “In section 1(1) of the Protection of Children Act 1978 (indecent photographs of children), at the beginning insert “Subject to sections 1A and 1B”. The Act also amends the Criminal Justice Act 1982 to include at Part 2, Schedule 1 (offences excluded from early release provisions): - Sexual Offences Act 2003 Sections 5 and 6 (rape of a child under 13, assault of a child under 13 by penetration); Section 8 (causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity) where an activity involving penetration within subsection (3)(a) to (d) of that section was caused. The Act also amends the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 by substituting Paragraph 8 of Schedule 2 relating to “Prostitution and child sex”. The Act also amends the Adoption and Children Act 2002 – In section 74 of the ACA 2002 (status conferred by adoption not to apply for the purposes of certain enactments) in subsection (10 for paragraphs (b) and (c) it substitutes “or (b) sections 64 and 65 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (sex with an adult relative)”. |
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| 9. | More detail on some of the provisions of the Sexual Offences Act 2003:Meeting a child following sexual groomingSection 15 makes it an offence for a person aged 18 or over to meet intentionally, or to travel with the intention of meeting, a child aged under 16 in any part of the world, if he has met or communicated with that child on at least two earlier occasions, and intends to commit a “relevant offence” against that child either at the time of the meeting or on a subsequent occasion. An offence is not committed if the adult reasonably believes the child to be 16 or over. The section is intended to cover situations where an adult establishes contact with a child through, for example, meetings, telephone conversations or communications on the Internet, and gains the child’s trust and confidence so that he can arrange to meet the child for the purpose of committing a “relevant offence” against the child. The course of conduct prior to the meeting that triggers the offence may have an explicitly sexual content, such as the adult entering into conversations with the child about the sexual acts he wants to engage her/him in when they meet, or sending images of adult pornography. However, the prior meetings or communication need not have an explicitly sexual content and could for example simply be the adult giving the child swimming lessons or meeting her incidentally through a friend. The offence will be complete either when, following the earlier communications, the adult meets the child or travels to meet the child with the intent to commit a relevant offence against the child. The intended offence does not have to take place. The evidence of the adults’ intent to commit an offence may be drawn from the communications between the adult and the child before the meeting or may be drawn from other circumstances, for example if the adult travels to the meeting with ropes, condoms and lubricants. Subsection (2) (a) provides that the adults previous meetings or communications with the child can have taken place in or across any part of the world. This would cover for example the adult emailing the child from abroad, the adult and the child speaking on the telephone abroad, or the adult meeting the child abroad. The travel to the meeting itself must at least partly take place in England or Wales or Northern Ireland. |
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| 10. | Sexual Offences Act 2003 Section 48: Causing or inciting child prostitution or pornographyAdditionally the Sexual Offences Act 2003 Section 48 makes it an offence for a person to intentionally cause or incite a child into prostitution or involvement in pornography in any part of the world. The pornography / prostitution do not have to have taken place for the offence to be committed. The causing or inciting in this instance must take place in the UK. However the prostitution or pornography can take place, or be intended to take place in any part of the world. This includes inciting/encouraging/coercing the child pose in a sexually provocative way, which may or may not include nudity, in front of a webcam. There is no requirement that the prostitution or pornography be done for the gain of that particular adult in order for an offence to have been committed. |
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| 11. | Sexual Offences Act 2003 Section 49: Controlling a child prostitute or a child involved in pornographyThis section makes it an offence for a person to intentionally control any of the activities of a child that relate to that child’s prostitution or involvement in pornography in any part of the world. ‘Any of the activities’ is specified to ensure that it captures situations in which only part of the child’s time is controlled. An example of the type of behaviour which the offence targets is where a person directs a child to charge a certain price for a particular sexual service and the child complies with this request or direction. Alternatively, it could be directing a child to pose for an indecent photograph or film. Again the controlling must take place in the UK but the prostitution or pornography can take place in any part of the world. There is no requirement that the prostitution or pornography be done for the gain of the adult. |
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| 12. | Sexual Offences Act 2003 Section 50: Arranging or facilitating child prostitution or pornographyIt is an offence for a person to arrange or facilitate the involvement of a child in prostitution or pornography in any part of the world. This would cover for example, a person delivering a child to a place where he/she will be used to make pornography, the person making practical arrangements for the shooting of indecent photographs of a child, or a landlord knowingly allowing his property to be used as a location for child prostitution. The arranging or facilitating must take place in the UK. However the prostitution or pornography can take place in any part of the world. There is no requirement that the prostitution or pornography must be carried out for the gain of the adult. |
Glossary
Address (URL)
An address, or website address, which is typed in to find a place on the Internet. They begin www (world wide web) followed by the name or the organisation or company.
Email Address
An email address is used to contact an individual. Email means electronic mail and means you can send and receive letters, cards, picture or music to and from people anywhere in the world.
Attachment
This is a file of information that can be sent as part of (attached to) an email. It may contain text, photos, graphics, sound or video.
Anti-virus Software
Protects computers from viruses. This needs frequently updating and is often provided on subscription
Blogging (Blog)
Interactive discussions between people interested in a similar topic.
Bluetooth technology
Allows electronic devices like your mobile to communicate with one another without the need for cable and wireless.
Broadband
An ‘always-on’ connection to the Internet using specially installed equipment that works with the phone line to deliver online information and images rapidly to a computer.
Browser or web browser
This is a piece of software (computer instructions or a computer programme) which allows the Internet to be explored, also known as ‘browsed’ for example Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator.
Chat room
A place on the Internet, accessed through a computer or mobile device, where people communicate by typing messages. People all over the world can communicate in a chat room, where everyone can see what is being typed by everyone else, either on their computer screen or mobile device.
Cookies
A tiny piece of data stored in your computer after you have visited a website, the cook remembers your personal settings and allows web pages to be downloaded more quickly
Cyberbullying
Deliberately hurtful behaviour, usually repeated over a period of time, where it is difficult for those bullied to defend themselves. This is carried out using the Internet and/or mobile phones.
Download
This means to transfer information from websites or emails to a person’s computer. Often it is free. It may be words or images or software or music.
Email (electronic mail)
Messages sent electronically (over the Internet) from one computer to another.
Favourites
A place on the Internet browser to store web addresses that are often used.
File
All information on the computer is stored in files whether it is part of a document a picture or part of the software
Filter
Computer software that allows certain material to be blocked, for example, websites with violent, sexual or racist content.
Firewalls
Firewalls are used to prevent unauthorised Internet users from accessing private networks or individual computers connected to the Internet. All messages entering or leaving the computer pass through the firewall, which examines each message and blocks those that do not meet the specified security criteria.
Graphics
A catch-all term for anything involving images on the screen
Grooming
This can be an adult who wants to engage in sexual acts, or talk to them for sexual gratification. Grooming is done using a number of techniques including building trust with the child through lying, creating a different persona and then attempting to engage the child in more intimate forms of communication including compromising a child with the use of images and webcams. The person will often use blackmail or guilt as a method of securing a meeting with the child.
Hard disk
A computers main storage area for programmes and data
Homepage
A page on the World Wide Web, it can be the main page of a website or the page a browser first goes to when you start it up. You can choose your home page so that your favourite website always loads up when you access the Internet.
Icon
A small picture or image, often self-explanatory, which makes something happen when it is clicked. For example, clicking on a printer icon will print the page on the computer screen.
Instant Messenger (IM)
Allow’ you to chat on line in real time to anyone any where
Internet messaging
A way of exchanging typed messages with a friend or group of friends over the Internet, similar to sending text messages from mobile phones. This allows you to chat on-line to anyone, anywhere.
Internet
A worldwide network of computers that connects people and information. Also known as ‘the net’ or ‘the web’ or the ‘world wide web’.
Install
To transfer a programme from floppy disk to CD Rom onto a Computer hard disk. Most Programmes need to be installed before they can be used. You can also install programmes form the Internet
ISP (Internet Service Provider)
ISPs are commercial companies that have different ways of charging for their services. They enable you to access the Internet. Well known ISPs include AOL, BT, Demon and Freeserve.
JPEG (Joint Picture [Experts] Group)
A type of Image file commonly used for sending photos on the Internet.
MMS
Stands for multi-media messaging service. This means sending messages between mobile phones or between mobile phones and computer email. These can be text messages, still images, short films or audio clips.
Modem
A modem is part of a computer that lets it communicate with others through telephone lines. Some modems are built into computers and some are added on as external devices.
Moderated chat room
Chat rooms that have a person or a piece of technology to supervise the chat and make sure it is suitable.
MPEG
A film file
Newsgroups
Newsgroups, communities and clubs are discussion groups on the Internet. Unlike chat rooms, users do not communicate ‘live’ but post messages to each other on a particular topic. They are potentially open to abuse, for example, through people posting illegal material.
Online/Offline
Being online means being connected to the Internet. Offline is sometimes used as another term for the real world (i.e. outside the Internet).
Phishing
This is where someone tricks you into giving them confidential information (like a bank account number) by asking you to click onto a false website and entering your personal details
Picture messaging
Pictures taken on mobile phones, which have picture messaging facilities, can be sent via the mobile networks to other mobile devices with the same technology or can be sent to email addresses via the Internet.
Pod Cast
This can be either a video, audio book, comedy, play or radio show that is downloaded from a website and can come from anywhere around the world
Profile
Some chat rooms let users complete a personal profile, which others can see.
Pseudo photograph
An image, whether made by computer-graphics or otherwise, which appears to be a photograph. These are technically photographs but they are created by computer software. For example a child’s face can be superimposed on an adults body or to another child’s body.
Search Engine
A website directory (one of the most popular is Google) that allows you to search its database for sites on specific subjects.
Screensaver
An image that appears on screen whenever you don’t do anything on your computer for a few minutes.
SMS
Stands for Short Messaging Service and means sending text messages by mobile phone.
Spam
Spam is email that hasn’t been asked for and isn’t wanted. It may be sexually explicit.
Surfing
Also called websurfing. It simply means to wander around the Internet.
URL
Another term for an Internet or website address. (It stands for Universal Resource Locator).
Virus
Viruses and worms are names for computer-unfriendly programmes that can accidentally be downloaded into your system. Some are just a nuisance, but the really bad ones can crash your system and cause irreparable damage.
Voicemail
A voice message left on a phone or computer like an answerphone.
WAP
WAP stands for Wireless Application Protocol and is the technology used by most mobile phones to browse Internet sites that are written in a compatible format.
Web
The vast collection of websites that has been put into the Internet by companies, organisations and individuals
Webcams
This term is short for web cameras, special video cameras that can be linked to the Internet. Just like ordinary cameras, they are pointed at something and the image appears more or less straightaway on the computer screen.
Whispering
Whispering is a way of sending a private message to an individual in a chat room. This is like having a private conversation with a stranger.
Worm
Similar to a virus, this is a bad computer programme secretly introduced to computers to cause confusion or gain information.
Complied from Internet Task Force ‘Keep Your Child Safe on the Internet’ and NCH
End