NCJ Number
226274
Date Published
September 2007
Length
104 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the use of the Internet for the sexual solicitation of children, known as ‘online grooming’, in Australia and measures to protect children from online predators.
Abstract
Attempts to protect children from online sexual predators in Australia has included, but is not limited to (1) a proposal by MySpace that email addresses of convicted child sex offenders be compulsorily registered for the purpose of removing known sex offenders from the site; (2) an initiation of research projects to identify the scope and nature of the problems at issue; (3) laws specifically designed to counter the online sexual solicitation of minors have been passed in several Australian and other jurisdictions, but not in New South Wales (NSW); (4) specialist police units have been formed to combat online child exploitation; (5) over 130 completed prosecutions for online procuring, grooming, and exposure offenses in Australia; (6) social networking sites, such as MySpace and Facebook, have taken measures to protect children including setting a minimum age, creating special privacy controls for children, posting safety tips parents and children on their websites, and allowing users to repot misconduct; (7) NetAlert, the Federal government’s Internet safety advisory body, educates children and parents about online safety; and (8) Internet filtering software has been developed that can block children from using a computer to access inappropriate content on the Internet. Issues concerning the protection of children from online sexual predators have been prominent in both political and media debates in recent years. The paper concentrates on the dangers posed by the online sexual solicitation of children, prevention measures to address and combat these dangers, and other legal, administrative, and other initiatives that have been proposed. Appendixes 1-2