ARE YOUR CHILDREN SAFE ONLINE?

By Deb Wilkshire  Sep 3rd, 2018 

The internet plays a huge part in our modern day lives , but with this there comes a massive threat within our online presence; particularly that of children and young people.

Home secretary Sajid Javid in his speech about tackling child abuse states that  '80,000 people in the UK pose a threat to children online'.    The  National Crime Agency (NCA) received more than 82,000 alerts from the industry regarding child sexual abuse images in 2017 - a 700% increase since 2012.

Ahead of this speech last week British police arrested 131 suspects tied to online sex offences last week alone.  Around 400 people every month in the UK are arrested for offences connected to child sexual abuse and exploitation , figures coming from the NCA.

Full article viewable here:

https://news.sky.com/story/80000-people-pose-online-sexual-threat-to-children-sajid-javid-will-say-11488890

These numbers are abhorrent - and only a snapshot our online lives are accessible worldwide.    

So what is being done?

British police are calling for the technology industry to increase its help in stopping the abuse.   Rob Jones from the NCA said 'whilst some online platforms have taken important steps to improve safety, we are asking them to take it to the next step...and to invest in preventing these online offences from happening in the first place.  

Internet businesses currently use the Child Abuse Image, which can be used to identify files and detect when someone attempts to upload a known indecent image .   But it is unable to detect images that are new - haven't been reported and is unable to address child abuse which is being streamed.

What can we do as individuals?

We can continue to educate both adults and children on internet safety.  Internet Safety Day in the UK is Tuesday 05th February 2019, whilst this is great to address the issues it is a message that needs to be constantly reminded so we don't get complacent.

• Supervise your child online, using parental controls on websites and apps.
• Knowledge is key- chat to your child about the dangers of the internet.
• Learn about the apps your child is using. Awareness is the one of the first steps to keeping safe.
• Encourage open dialogue about safety online, your child knows who to come to for anything that they come across which is untoward. 
• Report anything suspicious to the police.

Interested in an e-safety session for your /your child's school?  CLICK HERE enquiries@resolveitcic.co.uk

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