Abusive Cybersex

Cybersex generally means flirting or talking about sex with other people online. A number of teens use chat rooms not only to talk to other people but also to flirt with one another. Some young people may even dream of meeting their true love or soul-mate online. Cybersex that makes one person feel uncomfortable can be described as abusive cybersex. Abusive cybersex can involve any or all of the following activities where the individual you are talking to may:

Try to introduce extremely sexually explicit conversations.
Send you pornographic images and make requests about you sending images to them.
May become abusive threatening, ridiculing and/or harassing toward you in order to make sure you do what they say.

Research findings indicate that children experience conversations of a sexual nature online. Although, the exact nature of these conversations is not known, i.e. what proportion constitutes teen-to-teen cyberflirting, varying degrees of cybersex, or possibly how sexually abusive conversations are.

The Cyberspace Research Unit conducted a study in 2002 which found that 53% of chat users aged 8-11 years reported having had conversations of a sexual nature online. In teh US a similar programme fo research found that 2% of young people reported that they were aware that they were talking to an adult, and another 2% said that the adult was aware they were talking to a child. (Finkelhor, et al. 2000). 6% of 9-16 year old children in the CRU study in 2002 reported that online conversations of a sexual nature were unpleasant or offensive.

Aside from online contexts are there related offline contexts that I ought to consider?

Conversations of a sexual nature between adults and young people online may be a pre-cursor to a face-to-face meeting between teh adult and child or young perosn in the real world for sexual purposes. These conversations are referred to a online solicitaion or online grooming and are illegal.

Legal issues

The Sexual Offences Act 2003, saw the introduction of a new offence of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity (s.10 of the 2003 Act), carrying sentences of up to 14 years for non-contact abuse, which may include activities such as, for example, persuading children to take their clothes off, causing the child to touch themselves sexually, sending indecent images of themselves etc. Two separate offences expand the legal remit to include situations where the behaviour leads to the child viewing sexual activity; engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child (s.11) and causing a child to watch a sexual act (s.12). Both carry the maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment. In an online context it is conceivable that non-contact related offences might involve, for example, activities whereby an adult encourages a child or a young person to send pictures of themselves either naked or engaged in specific sex acts, or perhaps an individual may send pornographic images to a child. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 ensures that this behaviour is covered by domestic law.

Advice for parents

Consider your child’s perspective…

Many young people consider Internet friendships as an extremely important part of their social network. It is important to recognise sexually oriented online relationships occur much less frequently than benign friendships; therefore, young people can see repeated warnings about the risk of online encounters as unrealistic.
Not all online sexual solicitors fit the media stereotype of the adult male and it is important to be aware of the fact that some times adult males pose as females or young people when conversing with children online.
Harassment, in the form of threatening or malicious messages, e-mails, and Web pages, is frequently more distressing to young people than online sexually oriented encounters because such harassment often involves people who live close enough to the victim to carry out their online threats.

Encourage Dialogue

Talk specifically to your child about the diversity of positive online experiences and the risk posed by others online. Most importantly let your child know that no matter what happens online that they can rely on your guidance and support.

Become more involved in your child’s online friends – discussing each online friend in a way that respects the privacy of the your child while safeguarding them from inappropriate communication.
Negotiate with your child issues around how they conduct themselves online, for example, the names they use online, and how they should expect to be treated by other sin an online context.
It is a good idea as a reference to note down in contract format those issues that have been negotiated and agreed.
It is important to have a balanced approach at all times and to be aware of the benefits of young people being able to communicate online and maintain friendships whilst addressing the problem of non-sexual as well as sexual victimisation on the Internet.
Ensure that your child is aware of the existence and locations of resources for reporting and dealing with Internet offences.
Negotiate age appropriate prevention and intervention strategies for youth of different ages.
Encourage young people to take responsibility for youth-oriented parts of the Internet and to help clean up standards of Internet behaviour.

Technology based support

For younger children it may be wise to consider the use of technological protective measures that can be implemented which will complement your support and guidance.
Installation of particular filtering software products affords parents the opportunity to block access to chat and instant messenger programmes which are the typical locations for abusive cyber sex and online grooming to occur. However, it is important to note that the growth in children and young peoples’ websites and blogs which afford other people online the opportunity to leave comments and messages on the site is another possible avenue for this sort of abuse to occur.
Filtering software packages also allow you to tracking users usage of particular applications which allows you to monitor the amount of time spent using particular computer programs.
Keeping your firewall and anti-virus software up to date will limit the opportunity for an adult with ill-intent from gaining access to your child’s computer.
Some experts in child protection recommend the installation of a key logger – computer software that allows the storage of all characters that have been typed on a particular machine. It is important to consider your child’s right to privacy when considering this option and the importance of creating an atmosphere of trust, support and open dialogue between you and your child.
It is also possible to explore the sites your child has visited by accessing the history button on your browser task bar.

Privacy filtration – software, such as Netscape Nanny 5.0, that blocks personal information from transmission over the Internet.
A number of chat and Instant Messenger programmes allow you to save copies of conversations. It is wise to recommend to children and young people that if you agree that they can use chat and instant messenger programmes that they use ones which allow them to save copies of conversations.

How Can You Report A Crime?

If you know about a child who is in immediate danger or risk, call 999 or contact your local police. In non-emergency situations, or to report minor crime, contact your local police force. For details on how to contact your local police force, visit www.police.uk/forces/.

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can report a crime, or provide information on a crime, to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111

How can you report illegal content online?

Content that you have seen online, which you consider to be potentially illegal, can be reported to the Internet Watch Foundation. There is no need to contact the police directly as the Internet Watch Foundation are qualified to judge the illegality of the material and will report to the police if necessary.

How can you report suspicious behaviour online with or towards a child? UK residents can report concerns about suspicious and/or inappropriate behaviour online with or towards a child direct to law enforcement via the VGT website.

How can you seek help and support online?

If you are a child or young person, our Kids page provides information on organisations that you can speak to in confidence to get help and support. ttp://www.virtualglobaltaskforce.com/

Samaritans provides confidential emotional support for people who are in emotional distress including those who have suicidal thoughts. If you are worried, feel upset or confused and just want to talk. You can phone Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90

Source: Cyberspace Research Unit
Related Links: Sexual Health; Abusive Cybersex; Reporting and Helplines; Pornography; Grooming; Recognising Grooming.

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