By Tracy Harrison, CEO of Derbyshire’s specialist child exploitation charity, Safe and Sound
“As parents, we are constantly checking where our children and young people are going and who are they meeting but most do not have the awareness or skills to recognise the ‘stranger danger’ that young people are increasingly facing online.
These dangers are particularly heightened for children and young people with special education needs (SEND) and the reality is that online grooming and exploitation isn’t happening in dark, hidden corners of the web but in plain sight.
According to the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), children with vulnerabilities including SEND are seven times more likely to experience online harm in their lifetime and children with a disability are at least three times as likely to experience sexual exploitation.
Due to communication challenges and difficulties in making positive friendships, children and young people with SEND often feel isolated.
They also tend to become fixated on something and, when this is online, through gaming and social media, their vulnerabilities to grooming and exploitation are heightened.
They can be coerced into sharing self-generated child sexual abuse content in many ways, from aggressive demands to a friendly message telling them what they want to hear.
Education is another particular factor in the increased risk. A large proportion of those at risk of criminal exploitation have special educational needs, primarily ADHD and autism, and are often at risk of exclusion, or already excluded, from mainstream school – increasing their vulnerabilities for being targeted by drugs gangs both online and in person.
These national figures are reflected locally. Of the 385 children and young people we supported last year, 41% were either diagnosed or awaiting assessment for SEND.
It is therefore vital that parents and carers are aware of the dangers online and have a greater understanding of how to help keep children and young people safe online, particularly if they have special educational needs.
IWF has an excellent set of resources available to families around their TALK campaign and encourages families to talk to children about online grooming; agree ground rules about the way they use technology; learn about platforms and apps and take an interest in what children are doing online: https://talk.iwf.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Parent_Resource_UpdatedJuly2023.pdf
If you are concerned that your child is already a victim of or at risk of online grooming and exploitation, please talk about concerns with teachers, support workers, social care and even the police.
There is a growing recognition of these increased dangers amongst professionals working with children and young people with SEND and you should not be scared to seek help.
As Derbyshire’s specialist child exploitation charity, these child services professionals will probably refer you to us but you can also contact us direct.
Our website has many useful resources and we also have specialist support workers with SEND experience who can help young people and the whole family.
The important thing is not to ignore the red flags. There is help and support available and our collective mission is to keep children and young people safe and help them and the whole family move forward with their lives.