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NSPCC urges children to stay safe online and speak out about abuse
| Published: 14th May 2007 16:38 |
The NSPCC will encourage young people using online social networking sites to speak out about child abuse as part of its new Don’t Hide It initiative launched on Monday.
Picture posed by model, photography by Larry Bray
More than one million children were drawn to last year’s Don’t Hide It campaign on sexual abuse through social networking sites. Many left moving messages of support and sent personal messages to their friends. Some were spurred to open up about their own problems online.
In a new online poll for the charity, one in two children said they used social networking sites to share problems and get advice from people of their own age.
The poll shows how children are using social networking sites to find support when ‘having a tough time’ and to support a friend having difficulties. However, around half had also suffered an ‘unwanted experience’ while online.
Over 2000 children, mostly aged between 11 and 16, responded to the poll, which was posted on the Habbo.co.uk website. Habbo is one of many online communities which promote safer behaviour among its users.
Don’t Hide It this year will encourage children to speak out on all forms of abuse. It will feature on a number of social networking and online sites from Monday, including Habbo, Bebo, MyKindaPlace, Piczo, MSN and AOL Teens.
NSPCC director and chief executive Dame Mary Marsh says: “Children face real threats on the internet such as sexual grooming, cyber-bullying, exposure to violent, pornographic and other unsuitable material and being lured into dangerous real-world situations. Online social networking is part of millions of children’s lives. We must recognise and respond to this reality by helping them be safer online as well as helping them speak out about abuse at the same time.
“Children and young people often turn first to their own friends and people of their own age. They trust them to understand what they are going through. And they are often very supportive of each other. It takes great courage for an abused child to speak out. For many, taking the first step is the hardest part of the journey in getting help.”
This year’s Don’t Hide It will urge children worried about abuse to phone ChildLine on 0800 1111 or visit a special website www.donthideit.com for more advice and information. The NSPCC is also urging young people to speak to someone they trust – a parent, carer, relative, friend, teacher or friend’s parent.
Don’t Hide It is part of the NSPCC’s FULL STOP Campaign to end cruelty to children. It will use Hip Hop, heavy rock and other aspects of youth culture to reach millions of 11-16 year-olds through teen magazines, viral ads, booklets and radio programmes. This will be supported by radio and online promotional support.
Press ads in teen media will show images of a smiling child posing for the school photograph, family portrait and passport picture. But the child’s other sad and troubled face peers out from behind to get across the message ‘You don’t have to hide it anymore’.
TV ads will put across to adults the loneliness of an abused child with no-one to talk to. In one ad, a doll called Mandy sings, plays games and listens to the secrets of her friend Ellie who is punched by her mum. In another, a toy robot called Astrobot talks about his mission to protect his buddy Thomas who is often locked in a “dark place” by his dad.
The campaign encourages children to visit the www.donthideit.com site where five teenagers step out of the page to talk about physical, sexual and emotional abuse, neglect and bullying and how to stop it. Visitors can customise animated badges on the site and then send them to their friends or post on other sites to spread the Don’t Hide It message.
The NSPCC is working in partnership with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) and with social networking sites and agencies, including the police, to improve internet safety for young people.
Previous research has shown that one in three young people who regularly use the internet have received unwanted sexual comments online or by text. Nearly half (46%) have given out personal details about themselves – including photographs and phone numbers – to someone they have met online. And some girls who rang ChildLine to talk about internet issues said they had arranged to meet boys through chatrooms only to find they were older men looking for sex.
One young girl, responding to last year’s Don’t Hide It campaign with a posting on the Bebo site, said she was misled and raped by a man she met online: “He wasn’t my friend at all,” she said. “He didn’t care about me - just wanted one thing and didn’t care that it left me going to my doctor’s alone to make an emergency appointment for the Pill. I felt so dirty, like it was my fault…..”
Children and young people will find safe surfing tips on www.donthideit.com.
- Never use your real name in chat rooms – pick a special online nickname.
- Don’t reveal any personal details about yourself or your family.
- Never send provocative pictures or descriptions about yourself.
- Remember people might not be who they say they are.
- Do not respond to nasty or rude messages.
- Be very careful before arranging to meet someone. If you do decide to see them, then tell a trusted adult exactly what you are doing.
- Be careful with e-mail attachments/links as they may contain nasty images.
- Avoid sites meant for adults.
Parents can also help by familiarising themselves with sites their children are using and to tell CEOP immediately (www.ceop.gov.uk) if they suspect a sexual predator is talking online to a child. The NSPCC is calling for the pre-installation of internet safety software on all new PCs.
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