Online abuse victims let down by lack of training for child support workers, study reveals

Child victims of online sexual abuse may not be getting the right protection or support because training for child workers has not kept pace with technological advances, according to new research out today.

A survey of health, education and children’s services workers across England revealed a black hole in the knowledge and capabilities of professionals charged with assisting children who have been abused through the internet.

It added that while perpetrators have become more ingenious in their use of technology to engage with vulnerable children, the training available to professionals has not kept up.

The study was carried out by researchers at Plymouth University and University Campus Suffolk for the Marie Collins Foundation, a pioneering charity dedicated to improving services for children abused online.

It revealed cases where a mother had offered her 11-year-old daughter for sexual services to attract men for herself, countless cases of young teenage girls being abused by men they had agreed to meet after making contact online, boys and girls as young as nine using chat rooms to find a boyfriend or girlfriend, and girls being encouraged to perform sexual acts for 'friends' which are filmed then distributed.

Andy Phippen, Professor of Social Responsibility in IT at Plymouth University, said: “This shocking research demonstrates that while the internet has become a positive influence on many people's lives, there are still those who use it in a negative and sinister fashion. The fast pace of its development has in many cases left the authorities playing catch-up and while some now have policies in place, a huge amount of work is required to ensure those affected by online abuse receive the correct support.”

Professionals who took part in the survey included school nurses, health visitors and paediatricians, social workers, child protection advisers, family and education welfare officers, teachers and learning support assistants.

More than half of the 692 people who responded said they did not currently feel confident about helping children who had experienced harm or abuse online.

The results also showed 70% of those respondents stated they had not received training in online risk assessment, with 95.5% saying they would value such training. In addition, 81.1% of the respondents said they had never had any training in helping children in their recovery from online abuse, with 94% adding they would value such training.

Tink Palmer, founder and chief executive of Marie Collins Foundation, said: “The results of this research have confirmed our fears: that there is a dearth of understanding and professional expertise in relation to the recovery needs and future safeguarding of children abused online. In the UK and internationally the response to the needs of children and their families is, at best, ad hoc. Professionals lack confidence in assisting children in their recovery and it is apparent that this is due to a lack of adequate training. Currently, many professionals are attempting to deal with cases for which they are not equipped.”

The Marie Collins Foundation – launched two years ago and named after a survivor of sexual abuse – is now calling for a national programme of professional development and specialist training to meet the needs of children who have suffered harm via digital technologies.

The charity and university researchers plan to carry out a second survey into the training needs of those working in the criminal justice system – the police, Crown Prosecution Service, judiciary, magistracy, defence and prosecution barristers and solicitors.