News April 2022

SAAM Day of Action

Tuesday 5th April, the SAAM 2022 campaign continues to build on this vision with a call to action: “Building Safe Online Spaces Together.”

We know that we can build and are building online communities centred on respect, inclusion, and safety — where harassment, assault, and abuse are taken seriously. Not only do we believe that together we can build a safer online world, but we also believe that these values, skills, and actions will create communities that thrive online and offline.

Together we can make a difference to build inclusive, safe, and respectful online spaces. We invite you to join us this April in making respect the norm everywhere, taking action to promote the safety of others, and showing survivors they are believed and supported.

When: Tuesday 5th April 2022

Event info: www.nsvrc.org/saam

Online Grooming –  what to do if you think a child is being groomed.

A child who shows these problems has not necessarily been groomed – there might be another problem. Either way, it’s important for parents to step in. Parents can also learn the signs that someone might be trying to groom a child online. These include:

• claiming to be a celebrity or a friend of someone the child knows
• bombarding the child with messages
• contacting the child using several different platforms
• pretending to share the child’s interests
• offering to help the child become famous and popular – eg. as a model or a social media influencer
• giving the child over-the-top compliments
• pressuring the child to send pics or videos or meet in person
• asking the child questions about romantic or sexual topics
• using sexual language or sending the child sexually explicit material.

IF A CHILD HAS BEEN GROOMED, WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?

• Reassure the child that you’re glad you found out and they are not to blame.
• Report it. For guidelines, see the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation. If someone is in immediate danger, always call triple zero (000).
• Get expert advice about how to preserve the evidence. (Saving intimate images of children, even as evidence, can be illegal.)
• Get help from a trusted GP, school wellbeing team, sexual assault counselling service, or a helpline such as Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800, AccessLine 1800 800 944, 1800 RESPECT

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