Online child grooming: a literature review on the misuse of social networking sites for grooming children for sexual offences

Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), no part of this publication may in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, microcopying, photocopying, recording or otherwise) be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted without prior written permission. Inquiries should be addressed to the publisher. Please note: minor revisions are occasionally made to publications after release. The online versions available on the AIC website will always include any revisions. iii Foreword Foreword Advances in technology have provided individuals with unparalleled opportunities to communicate effi ciently and in real time. At the same time, the community has been exposed to a wide range of criminal activities, one of which involves the online exploitation of children. The potential for individuals with an inappropriate sexual interest in children to establish online contact with them and groom them for sexual abuse represents a very real threat to the safety of children in the technological age. The grooming of children for sexual abuse is a premeditated behaviour that commences with sexual offenders choosing a location or target area likely to be attractive to children. Social networking sites, in particular, have become an important element in the child grooming process. These technologies, popular with the digital/virtual generation, allow offenders to make contact with children and even masquerade as children in cyberspace to secure their trust and cooperation. As trust is developed, offenders seek to desensitise child victims to sexual conduct by introducing a sexual element into the relationship. In November 2007, the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) was commissioned by the Attorney-General's Department to search for, locate and report on the existing academic and policy-relevant literature concerning the use of social networking sites for grooming children for sexual purposes, the extent and nature of the problem, and effective ways in which to address it. This report brings together a number of aspects of the research that the AIC undertook in 2008. It reviews recently published academic and policy-relevant research on the misuse of online social networking sites and other forms of communications technologies by sexual predators to groom children for sexual conduct. Information is also provided on the extent and nature of the problem including some available statistical information. The report begins by defi ning 'online child grooming' and identifying ways in which emerging technological changes may be …