ARU to investigate harmful adult-child messaging
New NSPCC study to survey 1,500 children on use of private messaging services
Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) has been commissioned by the NSPCC to carry out a major new research project examining sexual communication between children and adults on private messaging services.
Involving experts from ARU’s International Policing and Public Protection Research Institute (IPPPRI), the study will support the NSPCC's ongoing advocacy work with Ofcom and the Government to help strengthen protections for children online.
In conjunction with CHILDWISE Research, the ARU researchers will conduct a large-scale survey involving approximately 1,500 young people aged 12-18 across UK secondary schools.
The anonymous online survey will explore the prevalence, nature and circumstances of sexual communication between children and adults through direct messaging platforms.
“We are pleased to have been commissioned by the NSPCC to undertake this vital research.
“Through our previous studies into the online harms experienced by young people, we know that direct messaging services can form a critical part of the pathways that lead to exploitation. These platforms can provide perpetrators with direct access to children and young people, creating opportunities for grooming and other harmful behaviours.
“By gathering and analysing robust evidence, we hope to deepen understanding of how these harms occur and, crucially, identify what can be done to prevent them.”
Professor Samantha Lundrigan, Director of ARU’s International Policing and Public Protection Research InstituteThis project builds on IPPPRI’s commitment to deliver research that informs policy, supports safeguarding efforts, and helps create safer online environments for children and young people.
IPPPRI has helped develop the ECHO Survivor Hub, which is a ‘first of its kind’ approach to helping victims of online child abuse have their images removed from the internet, and its researchers are studying various forms of online risk, including how extremist groups are exploiting the popularity of video games to recruit and radicalise impressionable users.