A week ago we talked about one of the latest crimes of sexual harassment of minors through the Internet, and we took the opportunity to remember the advice that parents and children should follow to strengthen protection.
I think it is clear to all that the Internet is a means through which to develop excellent tools that help children learn, relate and have fun, but apparently we still have to emphasize prevention, which should start without a doubt by educating us as parents and then guiding and supervising children. The crime possibly committed by an adult male, consisted of sexual harassment of 300 children, who without leaving their home received proposals of a sexual nature and images of pornography. Pere Cervantes and Oliver Tauste (whom we have interviewed recently) ask 'how can someone harass 300 children in the network ... without realizing it?
Because 300 girls like that suddenly, there are many, don't tell me you don't get goosebumps. Any parent can catch up on this web 2.0 tools, and obviously we have an obligation to educate our children (or so I think).
Anesthetized parents?
I can't help but remember this blog post Tranki Pap @ as, in which Pere and Oliver, during their work of crime investigation through ICT, they observe parents who seem to be doubly anesthetized.
First of all they are usually the last to find out that his son / daughter was being humiliated or harassed in the network, for other minors (the best scenario in these cases, because there are also cases of harassment by a pedophile adult). They are also the last to know that a minor child has been hacking email accounts or extorting other people for months.
They also seem anesthetized for having lived a long time with their backs to ICTs and the use that children make of them, a change in mentality is necessary, and I believe that there will be very few excuses to justify this attitude.
We can be faced with a generation of digital orphans who are growing involved in technologies that they use every day, but many of them without anyone to guide them, to teach them the way and the basic rules to not become victims or aggressors
The severity of grooming
Grooming is one of the most dangerous cybercrimes within -ING (grooming, cyberbullying, sexting or hacking) as it directly threatens the right to freedom and sexual compensation of minors.
Its main victims according to studies are girls between 15 and 17 years old. Said in this way, in criminal or legal terms, grooming may seem somewhat cold or distant, however we can assure you that the occasions when a minor has been a victim of grooming show us the great need for parents and educators to be very alert about what children do on the Internet.
Grooming or child grooming involves the same behavior: the stalking of an adult to one or more minors through ICT, mainly Internet or mobile phone, with the final intention of getting a sexual encounter in which to abuse the child. The nuance that differentiates these two concepts is that the Spanish Criminal Code, after its last modification in LO 5/2010, specifically punishes the child grooming that involves sexual harassment of children under 13 on the Internet, according to the new article 183 bis.
The groomer begins his stalking making a profile in a social network frequented by teenagers, pretending to be another minor. Little by little, he gains the confidence of children who sail unattended by their parents, without any supervision or at least, under an inefficient supervision. Soon he will begin to ask for photos or videos of an intimate nature, everything will seem very normal, very funny, "it's like a game" they usually say to their victims. Until you get the first real sex photo or video, from there begins a true ordeal for minors, sextorsion ... they have fallen into the groomer's nets and they will not be able to leave, at least not without asking for help
Can you detect if our child is being groomed?
Pere Cervantes says that 'Children are not sufficiently monitored on the Internet and a greater awareness by parents and educators is necessary to combat this problem'.
In Tranki Pap @ as, we find that - in addition to establishing adequate control in the navigation of minors - we must take into account that harassment can be externalized in behavioral changes (the first indication that something is happening).
I believe that any lasting change in customs, habits and behavior that is impossible for us to contextualize should be the object of attention by parents
In particular we can look at: unexplained modifications to their routines, decreased school performance, anxiety, loss of self confidence, family and social isolation, hostile attitude.
I sincerely believe that in order to enjoy the possibilities of the Internet, we should first make sure that we all understand the concept of security. Let's not lose the goal of a safer and healthier networkBy educating our children, we also help other children even indirectly.
Images | Wolfgang Lonien, "Peter" Source | Tranki Pap @ s In Peques and More | Tips to protect our children from cyberbullying and grooming
