Image sharing resources for teens and parents:
CEOP have issued some new guidance for teenagers regarding sharing nudes. I think this would be good for parents as well; the advice given to students in school should be replicated with advice at home.
Click HERE to go to the article.
In addition, CEOP have also created an article for parents which goes into more depth. Called ‘7 questions parents ask about nude selfies’ there’s a great deal of information including why it happens and what parents should consider.
Click HERE to view this article.
Exploring image sharing with primary-ages pupils
There is a really good set of animations and a resource pack to talk to primary aged children about image sharing, the importance of consent and how to ask for help if they have a problem online.
Click HERE to access.
Children being bullied into spending money on Fortnite
I haven’t come across this with children personally but I wouldn’t be surprised. Fortnite isn’t a game, it’s a world of adventure and, more importantly, it’s a social space for children, young people and adults. Although a very long time ago, I remember my school days vividly. We were a very poor family who couldn’t afford anything, including new (and fashionable) clothing. This is one of the reasons I was relentlessly bullied at school; not because of who I was, but what I was. Now we’re hearing of this behaviour within Fortnite; perhaps it’s happening in other games too.
Click HERE to read this fascinating article.
WhatsApp users advised to update their app as soon as possible.
Last week Facebook (and WhatsApp) admitted to a security flaw within WhatsApp which allowed spyware to be installed. The risk is very low but the advice is to update the app as soon as you can.
See HERE for further information.
National Crime Agency Latest Report
On the 14th may the National Crime Agency released their report and some of their figures are staggering.
According to the NCA there are at least 181,000 offenders linked to serious and organised crime in the UK. This is more than twice the strength of the British Army and they believe this to be a very conservative estimate as it only takes into account known members of OCG’s. In additon, the report states that offenders are getting younger and they’re capitalising on technology to carry out multiple types of crime.
Regarding child sexual abuse, the number of referrals of online child sexual abuse has increased by 700% since 2012; the NCA states that there are nearly 2.9 million accounts registered on the worst child sexual abuse sites on the dark web worldwide, and they believe more than 5% of these accounts are offenders in the United Kingdom which equates to roughly 145,000 individuals in the UK.
This is a constant uphill battle, not just for law enforcement, but for us that work with children, we cannot take our eye off the ball.
Click HERE to see the full report.
Alan Mackenzie