Grooming in the 21st Century

Description

Grooming in the 21st Century: How Children are Recruited for Sex, County Lines and Terrorism

‘Grooming in the 21st Century – How Children are Recruited for Sex, County Lines and Terrorism’ by Letise Sampson is a 2020 Rising publication focused on the many different ways grooming shows its face in modern Britain.

Grooming is not a new phenomenon but the ways groomers target and manipulate their victims for their own ends have evolved and are still not fully understood or recognised. This knowledge gap puts young people at risk of serious harm – not only from sexual exploitation but from becoming involved with gangs, crime and extremist groups.

‘Grooming in the 21st Century’ looks at the problem with fresh eyes, presenting recent case studies alongside the findings from hours of painstaking research. We can now reveal the children most at risk from grooming and the modern-day methods groomers use to entrap, isolate and exploit them. These include organised on street grooming, as seen in Rochdale, Oxford and other UK towns, as well as online grooming. We look at the dangers lurking behind games, apps and webcams and the shocking techniques used by predators to connect with and blackmail children. Any child can be caught in the grooming web and we all need to be vigilant.

As with all 2020 Rising publications, this eye-opening book also provides practical tips for safeguarding children. We reveal the common signs that can warn us about grooming. We look at the challenging task of talking about difficult topics with young people. We also signpost the way to sources of help and support and advice you on what to do (and not to do) if grooming is discovered or suspected.

Topics include:

• How to recognise grooming behaviour
• Understanding the victims of grooming
• Grooming for sexual exploitation
• Grooming for County Lines child drug trafficking
• Recruiting for terrorism as a form of grooming
• Online grooming and how to stay safe
• How to FLOSS to stay safe from grooming
• How to build healthy relationships
• What to do if a child you know is being groomed
• The long and short-term effects of grooming
• How to talk to children about difficult topics
• CSE images and how they can be reported
• The government’s new Online Harms Bill

This fact-packed resource is a valuable source of guidance and information for parents of children of any age. It can also be used by teachers, young people’s services, community leaders and children themselves.