RF Grooming

• grooming

  to prepare or train someone for a particular activity

  • a rising issue that has been made easier by technology advancement
• child sexual exploitation cases (2013)

  18000+ reports made, 192 arrests made
• paper

  young adult perception of internet communications and the grooming concept - WOOD & WHEATCROFT (2020)
• background research

  • more and more cases of CSE and grooming
  • technology is advancing - new and attractive apps
  • WILLIAMS ET AL. (2012) grooming becoming less obvious and easier bc its done on the internet -> due to anonymity and young ppls lack of knowledge on grooming
  • CRAVEN ET AL. (2007) young ppl perceive being taken adv of and grooming as different concepts
  • DAVIDSON & GOTTSCHALK (2011) internet becoming more attractive as a way to build rs compared to in person
• previous findings

  CRAVEN ET AL. (2007) lack of knowledge on grooming, mainly definition. found there are difficulties in identifying sexual grooming

  DAVIDSON & GOTTSCHALK (2011) identified characteristics of online grooming. including disconnected personal communication. internet an attractive platform for groomers and vulnerable, socially isolate ppl

  WILLIAMS ET AL. (2012) 3 processes of grooming:

  • rapport building - ppl given a false sense of trust by groomers, so they may not see it as grooming
• design and method

  • qualitative
  • within ppt
  • semi-structured interviews
  • open ended topics w prompts
  • thematic analysis
  • 18-25 yo
  • male and female
  • general young adult population
  • 10 ppt
• research question

  how do young adults perceive internet communication and the concept of grooming?
• interview topics

  • social life
  • social media
  • interests
  • communication
  • grooming
  • conversations
  • trust
  • risk taking beh
  • cht room usage
  • relationships
• thematic analysis

  has 6 stages of analysis:

  • familiarisation
  • generalising initial codes
  • searching 4 themes
  • reviewing themes
  • defining and naming themes
  • producing the report
• themes identified

  superordinate and subordinate

  • grooming as a concept - misunderstanding of grooming, seeking grooming info
  • virtual lives - virtual socialising, curiosity abt others
  • risk perception - risk taking behaviour online, changes to perception of risk through maturity
• theme 1 - grooming as a concept


  none of the ppt shared a unified understanding of the term grooming
• theme 2 - virtual lives

  internet is a major part of the ppt lives and who they are
• theme 3 - risk perception

  perception of risk varied in ppt
• findings

  • limited understanding of term
  • online risks not always perceived as risky
  • risky beh decreases w age
  • trust gained easier online than offline
  • lack of education, knowledge and understanding enhances vulnerabilities
• conclusion

  need more nuanced definition of grooming

  more info for children and caregivers

  focus on younger ppt to address wider issues

  focus on risk taking beh among other vulnerable grps
• limitations

  age

  retrospective recall

  fewer risk taking

  sample size