IWF welcomes CEOP’s advice programme for parents
Over 1.1 million children in schools across the UK have now attended interactive sessions as the battle against child sex predators using the internet gathers pace. But one fundamental challenge remains – the need to bring technophobic parents up to speed with what their children are doing online – and teach parents how to protect them.The UK’s dedicated organisation for tackling the sexual abuse of children – the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre –is now plugging that gap with Britain’s first police-inspired education programme aimed directly at parents.
“Purely for Parents” is the latest in a series of initiatives being rolled out under the CEOP Centre’s ThinkuKnow banner. Its aim is simple: to bring parents and guardians more up to speed with the way in which the internet is integral to children’s lives and to help them understand ways of making the online experience safer for children of all ages.
Launched today, the programme – which has been requested by thousands of teachers and parents from across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – will be delivered both through specially designed parents evenings at local schools as well as through an online facility at thinkuknow.co.uk/parents.
Jim Gamble heads up the CEOP Centre and is the UK’s leading police officer in tackling the sexual abuse of children on the internet:
“Our education team have talked to thousands of children over the last 12 months. We have over 4000 trained professionals working with us in delivering our programme and we have attended hundreds of teacher events at schools and colleges in all parts of the UK.
“One theme is ever present. Children love the internet. Well over 8 million children in the UK have access to the internet. But where children go, child sex offenders will follow and our own work tells us that 1 in 4 young people have gone on to meet someone offline who they initially met online.
“So it really is time to catch up. It really is time that we share with parents the types of behavioural changes that could be the early warning signs in their children. Visit thinkuknow.co.uk/parents or go into your school and ask them to talk to us about arranging a special parents evening”.
Thinkuknow “Purely for Parents” is made up of a number of easy to follow products all of which are available free to schools in order to form the basis for parents evenings or can be downloaded from www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents .
NOTES TO EDITORS
- The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre is a law enforcement agency and works in both online and offline environments. Full information on all areas of work as well as online safety messages and access to online reporting can be found at www.ceop.gov.uk or for children at www.thinkuknow.net.
- For further information please contact Miriam Rich, Vicky Gillings or Clive Michel at the CEOP Centre press office on 0870 000 3434.
- CHILD ABUSE IMAGES, NOT ‘CHILD PORNOGRAPHY’
- Use of the phrase ‘child pornography’ actually works to the advantage of child sex abusers:
- It indicates legitimacy and compliance on the part of the victim and therefore legality on the part of the abuser
- It conjures up images of children posing in ‘provocative’ positions, rather than suffering horrific abuse
Every photograph captures an actual situation where a child has been abused. This is not pornography.
About the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre works across the UK and maximises international links to tackle child sex abuse wherever and whenever it happens. Part of our strategy for achieving this is by providing internet safety advice for parents and carers and delivering a virtual police station for reporting abuse on the internet.
Created: Mon, October 1st, 2007 | Last Modified: Thu, July 17th, 2008
