Social media, messaging apps and chat rooms are used by offenders to target under 16 year olds for sexually motivated conversations.
Young people may be persuaded to send sexually explicit pictures or videos of themselves or have sexual conversations online.
No child should ever experience this. If you’re concerned about keeping your child safe online, please visit: here for Police Scotland’s safety advice.
Child sexual abuse does not always involve physical contact and can happen online. Children can become the victims of abuse on the internet through social networking sites and apps such as Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and online games.
These all can be accessed through tablets, mobile phones, and game consoles. It may involve initial ‘grooming’ online before contact sexual abuse takes place or the abuse or exploitation may all take place online.
When sexual abuse or exploitation happens online, young people may be persuaded, enticed or forced to: send or post sexually explicit images of themselves, take part in sexual activities via a webcam or smartphone or have sexual conversations by text or online.
Abusers may threaten to send images, videos, or copies of conversations to the child or young person’s friends and family unless they take part in other sexual activities.
Images or videos may continue to be shared long after the sexual abuse has stopped.
For further information, please visit the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, or visit our How can Children be safe online? page. Alternatively, you can contact:
Baranados Children 1st on 0131 446 2300
Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Childline on 0800 1111
ParentLineScotland on 0800 028 2233
NSPCC 0808 800 5000
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
