online grooming
Online Grooming: What is it?
People who have an interest in child or underage sex will often use the internet in order to meet children and underage young people with a view to developing a sexual relationship with them. This is against the law and is a criminal activity, Australian Criminal Code Act 1995 section 474.26 and 474.27 prohibits the use of a "carrier service" to communicate with the intent to procure a person under the age of 16, or expose such a person to any indecent matter for the purposes of grooming.
Grooming can include:
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Taking an undue interest in a child
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Giving money and gifts to child for no apparent reason
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Showing pornographic materials to a child
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Talking about age inappropriate sexual topics with a child
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Talking to children about adult related topics or problems
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Attempting to extract personal information in order to arrange a face to face meeting for sexual purposes
Online Grooming: What can I do?
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Trust your feelings. If you are feeling creepy, there is probably something creepy going on. Check it out with someone else and see if they feel creepy too!!
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Keep a record including times, dates and content so if you choose to make a complaint you have evidence of what is happening
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Let someone you trust know what is happening: this might be embarrassing but when someone else knows what is going on it usually makes it easier to take action that might include talking to the police
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Contact your internet service provider (ISP) what is happening. They can assist you to block the source of these messages
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Do not respond to grooming messages, responding often encourages the writer to feel they are being successful in their attempts to make the person feel that they want further contact
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Change your contact details. What a pain!!! Sometimes it is the only way of preventing ongoing contact. Only give out your new details to trusted friends, and keep them secret from everyone else
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Keep all personal information to yourself including name, date of birth, photos, and contact details like address and phone number and credit card details
Remember: The web is a great way to meet people but people may not be who they always appear to be. Never arrange to meet someone you have met on the internet without arranging to be accompanied by a good friend or adult and at a public place and prepare to be surprised!
