A CAMPAIGN to educate parents, carers and children about the dangers of social media will re-launch this weekend.
The ‘I Didn’t Know’ Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) Campaign will be launched on Sunday, March 18, for National CSE Awareness Day.
We will be working with our partners, Essex Safeguarding Children Board, Essex County Council and Southend and Thurrock Unitary authorities, to inform parents, carers and children about the potential dangers of social media and the privacy settings available on social media apps to help reduce the risk of online CSE.
For each day of the campaign, information will be published on social media using the hashtag #KnowAboutCSE, to inform parents of the steps they can take to make their child’s social media secure. We will warn children of online grooming and the potential dangers of talking to someone they don’t know online and how it can potentially lead to child sexual exploitation.
Detective Superintendent Jason Hendy, Head of Investigations for the Crime and Public Protection Unit, said:
“In over 60% of the child sexual exploitation cases we investigate, we find the victim has been targeted through social media or online. This makes the need for online safety education a priority.
“We want to reach children before they start using social media, so they’re aware of how to keep themselves safe online.”
You can support this week’s campaign by:
Talking to others and letting them know about the Essex Children’s Safeguarding Board website: www.essex.police.uk/onlinecse
Printing off resources and displaying them in public areas / training events etc.
Speaking to parents/carers, families, children and young people, and supporting them to understand where they can learn more
Sharing our content on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat
All material to support this campaign, can be found by visiting: www.essex.police.uk/onlinecse
Tackling child sexual exploitation requires a commitment by all of us, so please join the campaign to help support communities in understanding CSE, how to recognise it, and what to do to get support.
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