Children were warned today about the dangers of posting “selfies” on the internet.
A top criminologist revealed that sexualised self-portraits taken on smartphones are ending up in the hands of paedophiles.
Professor Julia Davidson, from the Centre for Abuse and Trauma Studies at Middlesex University, said it was now a major challenge to protect children, including those who share images of themselves.
Offenders are “streets ahead” of experts in their digital knowledge and in how to target youngsters, she said.
In an interview with the Evening Standard, Professor Davidson also warned that a “ticking timebomb” generation of children was becoming so desensitised to adult content online that they risk mental and physical health issues in later life.
The leading child abuse expert said: “With selfies, we’re seeing these images crop up in offender collections of images. This is a problem for young people taking sexual images of themselves and posting them on social networking sites.
“Groomers and young people are streets ahead (digitally) and practitioners feel deskilled because there’s a knowledge gap.
“There’s also a ticking timebomb with adult content where young people are exposed over a decade on a scale never seen before which could trigger mental and physical health problems.”
Her warning comes ahead of a major conference today on child protection both online and offline.
The event at the House of Lords brings together the UK’s leading experts including police watchdog Peter Spindler, who led the inquiry into Jimmy Savile, and Simon Milner, Facebook’s policy director in the UK.
They will give recommendations to Government on improving child protection. Key issues include young people not being listened to or being disregarded as credible witnesses, which is a particular problem with those in care who have been abused.
Other concerns include police and social workers not working closely enough together. Professor Davidson said she welcomed initiatives such as a national database to identify victims of abuse.
However, the expert said the real targets for offenders were “at risk” and vulnerable young people, including those with disabilities, and that more needed to be done to protect them.
She also called for schools to educate children about “appropriate and healthy adult relationships” and not just the “nuts and bolts” of sex.
