Grooming

Grooming is when someone builds an emotional connection with a child to gain their trust for the purposes of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation or trafficking.

Children and young people can be groomed online or face-to-face, by a stranger or by someone they know - for example a family member, friend or professional.

Groomers may be male or female. They could be any age.

Many children and young people don't understand that they have been groomed or that what has happened is abuse.

Brought into force under section 67 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 on the 3 April 2017, it is now a criminal offence for anyone aged 18 or over to intentionally communicate with a child under 16, where the person acts for a sexual purpose and the communication is sexual or intended to elicit a sexual response. The offence applies to online and offline communication, including social media, e-mail, texts, letters, etc.

Craven, Brown and Gilchrist, (2006) have defined grooming as being:

“A process by which a person prepares a child, significant others and the environment for the abuse of this child. Specific goals include gaining access to the child, gaining the child’s compliance and maintaining the child’s secrecy to avoid disclosure.”

NSPCC - provide information on the signs of grooming and how to protect children from potential grooming

Thinkuknow - provide advice to prevent grooming and give an explanation into the 3 main stages of grooming; building a relationship, gaining power over the child and finally keeping the abuse a secret.