Online Risk to Children: Impact, Protection and Prevention

The Internet has become an integral part of everyday life at home, at work, at school and within peer groups, bringing huge benefits for all. Yet while most children use the Internet positively, the rapid pace of development challenges the safeguarding process. Parents are wary of what their children may be exposed to, yet at the same time unsure how to protect them. Risks associated with the Internet range from exposure to inappropriate content and cyberbullying to grooming and even identify theft. With most children no longer perceiving a divide between life online and offline, there is an urgent need to address this issue in a structured and evidence–based way. This edited NSPCC series book gathers contributions from a range of leading thinkers, researchers and practitioners in a definitive resource for anyone interested in online risk, child protection, and treatment of victims and offenders.

Jon Brown is Head of Strategy and Development for The NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children). He is a qualified Social Worker with a Masters in Social Policy from the London School of Economics. Before joining The NSPCC, he served as Operational Director of Children s Services for Action for Children. From 2003–2007 he was Chair of the National Organisation for the Treatment of Abusers, and he remains on their National Executive Committee. He is also a Trustee of the Loudoun Trust, a Board member of eNACSO (European NGO Alliance for Child Safety Online), and a peer reviewer for the Economic and Social Research Council.