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The impact of technology assisted sexual abuse of young people: victim and professionals’ voices

This study provides an overview of technology-assisted child sexual abuse (TA-CSA) and explores its impact on victims. It addresses key questions about vulnerabilities, complexities, and ways to ensure victims have a voice. The findings reveal the specific elements and challenges associated with TA-CSA, highlighting the importance of education, support, and sensitive therapy. The study emphasizes the need for professionals to recognize and address the seriousness of TA-CSA.

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The impact of technology assisted sexual abuse of young people: victim and professionals’ voices

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  1. The impact of technology assisted sexual abuse of young people: victim and professionals’ voices Dr Catherine Hamilton-Giachritsis In collaboration with Dr Elly Hanson, Dr Helen Whittle & Prof Anthony Beech

  2. Aims: • Provide an overview of what is meant by ‘online’ grooming and abuse (technology assisted child sexual abuse; TA-CSA) • Answer some key questions about vulnerabilities, impact and additional complexities of TA-CSA • Think about how we can ensure victims have a voice • Consider how this knowledge impacts on our ways of working with young people

  3. What is online (ta) CSA?

  4. What do we know about the impact of TA-CSA?

  5. Mixed methods study

  6. Social & psychological processes • Silencing & continuation of abuse • Disclosure • Shame, stigma, self-consciousness • Betrayal • Self-blame and denigration • Fear and anxiety • Self-objectification Existence & making of images Deception about abuser(s) Deception in images Example harmful outcomes Relationship difficulties Suicidality Depression Self-harm PTSD Online & image dimensions to sexual abuse Victim ‘participation’ Viewing and viewer(s) Reach of images Permanence of images Elements of online CSA and hypothesised processes following abuse (Hanson, 2017)

  7. What is the impact of technology-assisted child sexual abuse compared to solely offline forms of child sexual abuse? (both as measured quantitatively and as perceived by young people and professionals) • Are there additional complexities and supportneeds for young people who have experienced technology-assisted sexual abuse? Key research questions

  8. Methodology

  9. SAMPLE • RECRUITMENT • Young people: NSPCC, CEOP & Childline • Professionals: NSPCC, CEOP, Childline, BASPCAN mailing list & conferences • PARTICIPANTS • Initial screening survey on Childline: N=389 - of whom only 230 aged 17-21 • Qualitative interviews with YP: N=16; aged 17-19; 94% female • Questionnaires with YP: N=30 • Professionals questionnaire: pilot N=7; N=45 https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/research-reports/impact-online-offline-child-sexual-abuse.pdf • COMPARISON GROUPS • Offline only vs some online element to the abuse • Ethics: Integral to the design of the project and the practice of the researchers

  10. Key findings

  11. Ranged from 43%-62.5% • Qualitative interviews: • 10 of 16 interviewed reported TA-CSA (62.5%) • Of their 22 abusive situations, 54% included digital technology (n=12) • Aged 4-17 when abuse began; male peers or adult males • Quantitative study: • 43% of 30 young people who completed questionnaire; 6 both online and offline; 7 fully online (no response n=2) • Childline screening (NB not nationally representative): • Of the 208 17-21 year olds, 55% (n=115) had sexted BEFORE age 16; of which: • Two-thirds felt forced to send images (67%) • Over half was with someone over 18 years (54%) Rates of technology-assisted CSA

  12. Online abuse is sometimes perceived as having less impact and being of less immediate concern than offline abuse by professionals • But,TA-CSA abuse is no less impactful than offline-only sexual abuse • Technology provides additional routes both to access young people to abuse, and to manipulate and silence them • With TA-CSA, there are specific elements for young people to contend with, related to control, permanence, blackmail, revictimisation and self-blame • Some professionals noted that victims are more often ‘blamed’, seen as participating in the abuse or do not see it as abuse when it is online Summary of key findings

  13. Key finding 1 TA-CSA abuse is no less impactful than offline-only sexual abuse

  14. The impact of sexual abuse(16 young people)

  15. KEY FINDINGS (N=30)

  16. Key finding 2 Technology provides additional routes both to access young people to abuse, and to manipulate and silence them abuse

  17. Key findings 3 & 4 With TA-CSA, there are specific elements for young people to contend with Others perceptions about TA-CSA

  18. TA-CSA HAS SPECIFIC COMPLEXITIES:Outcomes for young person

  19. TA-CSA HAS SPECIFIC COMPLEXITIES:Others’ perceptions

  20. Young people’s views

  21. 1. Provide good education on healthy relationships, abuse and consent from a young age • 2. Ask, understand and notice • 3. Recognise the seriousness and existence of sexual abuse, including technology-assisted • 4. Increase support and make it more accessible • 5. Increase sensitive and effective therapy • 6. Ensure law enforcement have a human and respectful approach Advice from young people to professionals

  22. Things like sexual abuse has only started to…develop and become a bit more important in people’s perspective, and I think this needs a bit more of a push, so people understand how it really does affect somebody... But at the minute, it’s not viewed as anything startling or bad, if that makes sense.’ I just think it’s the fact that people don’t understand that cyber abuse is just as serious and harmful as like something physically happening… I don’t hear anybody speak about cyber abuse, but it goes on everywhere, and people don’t speak about it because people don’t think it’s important Holly (17) … this would reduce minimisation & blame

  23. Long waiting lists • Lack of awareness raising • Policies and practices that selectively disenfranchise adolescents • Instead harness and work with their agency and insights I can go to like a walk-in clinic in confidence and get an abortion, I could get anything, but I can’t go to CAMHS in confidence, can I? Like my parents have to know… It doesn’t really make sense. They were alright actually. I stopped going though because… It’s quite pathetic how they send things through the post. Who…who sends stuff through the post? Like you can text me, you can email me… I think like my Dad must have been throwing them away…because he thought, oh, she doesn’t need to go…because obviously I started missing appointments, like you get chucked off the list, don’t you? If you miss two, you can’t go back and you have to get referred again. Holly (17) Address barriers to adolescents receiving timely therapeutic support See Hanson & Holmes: That Difficult Age; Developing a more effective response to risks in adolescence (2014)

  24. I feel like he didn’t know what he did was that bad. So I don’t want to get anyone in trouble, but at the same time that means that I can’t get any support, counselling, or anything like that. With my job now with complaints and things, it has to be victim led, that’s our whole policy so where things like safeguarding and so on, with children we have to obviously go to the police, but we, if it’s an adult who’s said anything, like I’ve been sexually harassed, abused or whatever, we have to, it’s victim led so we go, what do you want to happen, what’s your ideal outcome of this, we don’t go, I think you should go to the police… because there’s so much red tape with child protection and so on… I don’t think you can get around it… I don’t mind being encouraged to go to the police and be like this guy could hurt other people, I think you should talk to someone, it isn’t wrong, but anything I did would have forced me into it because I would have been like, it’s child protection so you have to get the police involved or social services and that’s exactly what I didn’t do, so I like couldn’t get help at all.Hayley (17)

  25. Qualities young people reported helpful • ‘Human’ – found ways of showing care & love • Taking account of the abuse • Bespoke to needs of young person • Helped to shift self-blame & negative beliefs • Those reported to be unhelpful • Rigid adherence to an approach, e.g. CBT or EMDR • Ignoring the abuse • Lack of skill/knowledge in dealing with abuse I think [therapists should] just know more about it really, because they were trying to get me to do CBT but I just wasn’t up to it at all. That’s something that I could do now, but not really at the time. Sally (17) I think it’s more like strategies to cope, you know like flashbacks and stuff, I don’t think they cover enough on how to stop those. Beth (18) When the counsellor is saying “We can’t deal with that”, I think they should say “But I can refer you to this person who can” rather than like let’s just shut it off and let’s not talk about that because that’s a big thing we can’t touch on. Kelly (18) From my 16th birthday I were doing counselling with NSPCC in the city and that really liked changed a lot for me…I mean my counsellor she’s just given me a bit of hope do you know what I mean… If I’d not gone to see the NSPCC I honestly know that I would either be in a ditch somewhere or off my head somewhere… I mean she changed my view on myself, on other people like, I mean she was straight. I used to think I was ugly and horrible and she kind of brought the good out in me.Cara (18) Increase the sensitivity & effectiveness of therapy

  26. limitationS

  27. WAYS FORWARD

  28. Young people’s advice to other young people Tell someone! Don’t feel ashamed or blame yourself! It’s hard…but it improves! • Seek support! C.Hamilton-Giachritsis@bath.ac.uk chg26@bath.ac.uk

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