Facebook - Privacy checks and third party apps

In the wake of news about Cambridge Analytica and Facebook, many people are considering how their personal data is used and stored on Facebook, including how third party apps can have access to your profile and personal information.

We recommend that you regularly check the apps that are linked to your Facebook account and encourage your children to do the same. Here we provide some practical steps you can take.

How can I see what third party apps have access to my data?

Within your Facebook settings you are able to see which apps are connected to your account. In these settings you can see which parts of your profile and information these apps can access, and also if they have access to your friends’ information. You are able to select which information you would like these apps to access and also disable certain accesses. You can also remove the app completely from your Facebook account if you no longer use it or if you are unhappy with the data that it has access to. You will need to contact the app developer to ask them to delete any information they may have kept about you.

To see which apps have access to your data:

• In your web browser: Click or tap the triangle at the top right of Facebook.com, then select Settings, and click Apps.
• On Android: Tap the three-line button at the top right of the Facebook app. Here you select Account settings and then Apps.
• On iOS (Apple devices): Tap the three-line button (bottom right of Facebook’s app), then select Settings, and go to Account Settings. Finally, select Apps.

We would recommend that you unlink any Facebook apps that you no longer use from your account. Apps can access your public profile, your email address and your friend list and any information your friends choose to make public unless you disable this access.

You can also modify app visibility, so you can adjust if your friends can see if you use an app or not.

What checks can I do?

See where you are logged in

You are able to see which devices are currently logged into your Facebook account and which locations these are in, this is done on the Security and Login settings page. This page is also where you can change your password, enable two factor authentication and opt in to encrypted email notifications.

Control what information is public

The Privacy settings page shows who can see your Facebook profile information, including posts you’ve made or things that you are tagged in, it also allows you to review friend requests, friends list, email, phone number, and decide if your profile can be found in search engines such as Google.

See what Facebook can access

You can also check what access your Facebook mobile app has permission to access. This includes  whether the app can access your storage, camera, if the microphone can record audio or not, phone status, approximate location (network-based), and your precise location (GPS and network-based).

Do a checkup

On Facebook you can run a Privacy Checkup or a Security Checkup by going to the Facebook Safety Centre and clicking on either option.

How can I see what information of mine is stored on Facebook?

See your activity log

The activity log lets you see all of the things that you’ve done on Facebook, this includes content you have posted, commented on, shared and liked.

You can access your activity log by clicking the triangle in the top right hand corner or clicking View Activity Log near your cover photo.

You can use the activity log to change who can see each part of your activity by clicking the arrow on the right of each post.

Download your information from Facebook

You also have the option to download an archive of your Facebook activity, including photos, videos and posts. This shows you all of the data that is stored about you from across Facebook.

Be mindful that this information you download needs to be stored securely on your device so as to not put your personal data at risk.

What else can I do?

Disable apps completely

Instead of going into your accounts and disabling specific apps, you can completely disable the Facebook app platform. This means you won’t be able to use your Facebook account to log into third party apps or websites.

You can turn this off by going to App Settings, then edit Apps, Websites and Plugins.

Delete Facebook

You also always have the option of deleting your Facebook account. To do this you need to notify Facebook that you wish to delete your account and then click on the ‘Delete My Account’ button. After doing this you will not be able to reactivate your account or retrieve any of the content or information you have added. You can also deactivate your account if you prefer, and you can read an earlier blog of ours on how to do this. 

privacy

data protection

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New research highlights – looking at digital relationships

The UKCCIS Evidence Group have launched two new Research Highlights summarising recent research from the UK Safer Internet Centre and Childnet International looking at digital relationships and online sexual harassment.  

The Research Highlights Series

The research highlight series is conducted by the The UKCCIS Evidence Group, providing the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) with helpful summaries of relevant and new research. The Evidence Groups includes representatives from NGOs, academia and police. The Research Highlights Series aims to keep UKCCIS, and the wider public, up to date with current research.

Researchers and stakeholders are encouraged to inform the evidence group of recent and ongoing research.

Research highlight 126

Project deSHAME: Young People’s Experiences of Online Sexual Harassment

From UKSIC partner, Childnet, this research forms part of Project deSHAME. Providing a summary of a large-scale study examining young people’s experiences of peer-related online sexual harassment in Denmark, Hungary and the UK. This qualitative and quantitative research, was conducted as part of Project deSHAME with 3,257 young people aged 13-17 years in Denmark, Hungary and the UK. It provides a unique insight into their experiences of peer-related online sexual harassment.

Find out more about project deSHAME

Research highlight 125

Digital Friendships: The Role of Technology in Young People’s Relationships

For Safer Internet Day 2018 the UKSIC conducted a large scale study looking at the role of technology in young people’s relationships, the impact of this on their wellbeing, and how they want the adults in their lives to support them.

Key findings:

• The most popular platforms 8-17s are using to chat to their friends on a daily basis are YouTube (41%), WhatsApp (32%), Snapchat (29%), Instagram (27%) and Facebook or Facebook Messenger (26%).
• Over half (54%) of respondents aged 8-17 said they would feel isolated if they couldn’t talk to their friends via technology
• Over seven in ten (73%) of those aged 8-17 think it’s important for their friends to reply to their messages once they’ve seen the
• In the last year, more than four in five (83%) of 8-17s have experienced people being kind to them online

Find out more about Safer Internet Day

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Primary school teacher writes about the Childnet Digital Leaders who are making a difference in his school

Dan Everest who runs the Childnet Digital Leaders Programme at King’s Ely Junior School gives his tips on being a group leader and shares how the programme has helped promote online safety in school.

Delivered as part of Childnet's work in the UK Safer Internet Centre, the Childnet Digital Leaders Programme aims to empower children and young people to champion digital citizenship and creativity within their schools and to educate their peers, parents and teachers about staying safe online. 

What are your top tips for other Digital Leaders group leaders?

• Make sure potential DLs know the commitment level of the post. When training my DLs, they had to give up one lunchtime each week for a term. Once trained I would try and meet my DLs fortnightly depending on the activities I had for them.
• Pick a variety of students. I tried hard to get an equal balance of boys and girls in each year group.
• Students don’t have to be experts in computing to be a DL.
• Be organised, I now have 40 DLs to keep track of. Keeping lists of who has completed different modules of training is important. Who is presenting which subject to which class etc.
• Listen to your DLs. I have found out a lot more about digital use at school through my DLs.
• Recognise your DLs. My DLs are introduced in our whole school assembly as well as having their pictures up on display so that students know who they can chat to.
• Rewards your DLs. At the end of the school year the DLs have a pizza party as a thank you for their hard work.

What would you say to someone who was thinking of signing up to the Digital Leaders Programme?

If you are thinking of signing up to the DLs programme, I would most definitely recommend it. Working with my DLs always brings a smile to my face because of their commitment and passion they bring to the role. They want to help their peers, they go out of their way to support safer digital use. I find when hearing the safer digital use message from their peers, students are more receptive to it. Being in a school of nearly 400 students, my DLs are a vital support network for me in promoting and supporting students in their digital lives. My DLs also advise me about the latest apps and games being used in school - turns out Facebook is not the most popular app!

What have your Digital Leaders enjoyed most about the experience?

I get the impression that my DLs have enjoyed the whole journey of becoming one. They really enjoy going into other classrooms and presenting to students. For Safer Internet Day, DLs went into our Year 3-6 classrooms to present information about staying safer online. I had groups of DLs practicing using IWBs and their presentations for several weeks before the big day.  The DLs were so excited when I announced our Digital Picnic events and that they were going to be running information stalls. Already I have had the students in most lunchtimes working on the material they are going to present.

Digital Leaders 2.0 

After the success of last year’s Digital Leaders in Year 5 and 6 we wanted to mirror the success with Years 4 and 6 giving us leader coverage for Years 4-8.  We paired our new recruits with mentors who will act as guides for their training and beyond.

Digital Picnic

In January we welcomed Professor Emma Bond into school. She gave a presentation to parents on the digital dangers facing the students. Listening to the conversations afterwards between the parents and Professor Bond, parents wanted to know what to do next to help keep their children safer. From this the Digital Picnic was born. The idea is to share with the parents what we do with the students and then share digital parenting ideas as a group. Half way through the students will join their parents giving them both time to discuss digital matters. Parents and children will then be free to visit the stalls run by our DLs to receive information of certain APPs and games that are commonly used at school. Parents can also chat with teachers as well. We have planned 2 picnics, one for Years 3-5, the other for Years 6-8. Why a picnic? Well, the events are planned for May and we thought it would be a comfortable and hopefully fun setting for discussions.

If you would like to know more about the Childnet Digital Leaders Programme then register your interest and we can send you a pack with more information. 

peer education

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SWGfL Publishes Report Into Effects of Screentime on Young People's Wellbeing

A report published today (Tuesday 20 March 2018) by SWGfL (South West Grid for Learning) - one of the partners in the UK Safer Internet Centre – shows that many young people said “Fear of Missing Out” (FOMO) is one of the main reasons they will spend “too much” time online.

The report into the effects of ‘screen-time’ is the first in a series, titled Young People, Internet Use and Wellbeing in the UK. Compiled by Professor Andy Phippen from Plymouth University, the series explores the role of technology on young people’s wellbeing. Each report in the series will have a specific area of focus, such as gender, age differences, and what harmful content means to young people. It assesses data provided by more than 6,620 young people from year 4 to year 13 across over 100 schools in the UK.

Key findings

The primary finding from this analysis is that there is a clear a link between the amount of time a young person spends online and their exposure to upset, risk, and issues related to wellbeing. Additionally many young people said “fear of missing out” is one of the main reasons they will spend “too much” time online.

Through our analysis, we can see clear correlations between screen time and wellbeing, with some specific findings being:

• The older young people get the more time they spend online
• Males are more likely than females to be heavy online users
• Those who spend a lot of time online are more likely to see upsetting content, receive abusive comments, or send abuse to others
• Heavy online users are more likely to worry about how much time they spend online, and worry about what they have seen
• Heavy users are more likely to go online because they are lonely

Overall analysis on this sample shows first that there are some young people who spend a lot of time online, with a third of spending more than 3 hours a day online, and just over 10% declaring that they spend in excess of 6 hours a day online.

This research raises further questions around what motivates young people’s online behaviours, and it is clear that this is an area that requires further research. Over the coming years SWGfL, as part of its work as a partner in the UK Safer Internet Centre, will be working with HeadStart Kernow to explore the subject, as well as the social and emotional impacts of the online world, in order to inform future support for schools, families and communities.

Advice for parents

To support families, the UK Safer Internet Centre has today published a guide for parents and carers about screentime, with four key tips:

• Use digital devices together: Get involved in your child’s online activities. Have fun, play games and learn together online, just as you would in the physical world. It will then be natural for your child to turn to you if they experience anything upsetting online.
• Set clear expectations: Clear family rules can help your child have a positive start to their digital life and get the most out of being online. Ask your child to help create some family rules.
• Be informed: Many digital devices, services and content providers offer a range of parental controls. You can choose the type of content and options that are suitable for your child.
• Establish good habits early on: Both adults and children enjoy sharing moments with family and friends through online images and videos. Starting conversations and good habits early on is a great way to support children in staying safe online.

Andy Phippen, Professor of Social Responsibility in IT at the University of Plymouth said:

“The analysis of this large survey shows that there is a very clear link between screen-time and the likelihood that young people might be exposed to abuse or upsetting content.

“While our analysis can’t tell us why this is the case, the data is very clear that excessive screen-time can lead to higher risk of upset.”

David Wright, Director of SWGfL and the UK Safer Internet Centre, said:

“We have seen over recent months that some aspects of being online is having a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of children and young people. 

“This report clearly highlights some of these aspects, in particular the strong correlations illustrating gender differences in the extent of online use and also the children who spend an increased amount of time online are more likely to see upsetting content, receive abusive comments, or send abuse to others.

“The conclusions from this report must now be used as a stepping stone towards further research that can give us a clearer understanding of the reasons behind young people’s online behaviours, so that we may better support them in the future.”

screen time

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A parents guide to Fortnite: Battle Royale

At the UK Safer Internet Centre, we regularly deliver online safety training sessions to pupils, parents and teachers. Recently we have noticed an increasing number of young people talking about the game ‘Fortnite’. In this blog we are giving guidance to parents about Fortnite, looking at what the game is and some of the things to be aware of.

What is Fortnite?

Fortnight is an online game, which includes Battle Royale, where players do not have to pay to play. In Battle Royale, 100 players compete against each other to be the last person standing in player vs player (PVP) combat.

Users play against people of different ages from across the world, and can talk and interact with each other as they play through the in-game chat feature.

What age rating is Fortnite?

Fortnite has a PEGI rating of 12, PEGI have said this is due to the: ‘frequent scenes of mild violence. It is not suitable for persons under 12 years of age’.

This PEGI rating only takes into account the content in the game and not the contact element, where players may be exposed to swearing and offensive language from strangers, either through audio or on-screen text chat.

What do I need to know?

You need to create an account

In order to play Fortnite you have to create an account. To create this account you need to provide an email address (which you will have to verify) and display/user name. However you are not asked your age in order to create an account.

You are playing against other players

As Fortnite is an online game you willplay against players of different ages from across the world. You cannot turn the in game chats off or choose who you play against.

You can make in game purchases

Although Battle Royale is free to play, other aspects of the game are not. There are packs which give you different access to the full game and extensions, bonuses and weapons. These start at £34.99 and go up to £119.99. The game does ask players to make additional in-game purchases whilst playing, though these are not required to play the game.

There is animated violence

Fortnite does feature violence when players are in combat with each other, the animation of the game is very cartoonish, and the violence isn’t bloody or gory. However, it is worth noting that the aim of Fortnite is to defeat other players by fighting against them.

Where you can play

Fortnite is currently available on PC, Mac, PlayStation and XBox , and will soon be available on IOS (apple products). It is downloadable from the Fortnite website, this download gives access to both the free and paid for versions of the game.

Our advice

• Have an open and honest conversation with your child
  It’s important to involve yourself in your child’s online life and a simple and effective way to this is by talking to them about their life online.Try to maintain an open dialogue with your child and find opportunities to talk to them about what they love to do online. Parents can help children access the amazing resources the internet has to offer whilst keeping them safe online at the same time.
  Asking your child about how they play Fortnite and what they like about it is a great way to start a conversation. Our conversation starters can help you to have this conversation.
• Play with them
  It may seem daunting, but one of the best things that you can do is to engage with the gaming environment and begin to understand what makes Fortnite so attractive to young people, as well as giving yourself an idea of the reporting tools available within the game.
• Know how to make a report
  On Fortnite you can report players who are behaving inappropriately by using the in-game feedback tool located in the game Main Menu, you can also make a report by emailing the creators of Fortnite.
• See what other people think of Fortnite
  Common Sense Media allow parents and young people to give their reviews of games that they have played. They have created a very useful video guide to Fortnite with footage of the gameplay involved.

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Reporting on Snapchat – answering some frequently asked questions

Snapchat is a hugely popular messaging app that allows users to share photos, texts and videos, i.e. ‘Snaps’. In this blog we are looking to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about reporting on Snapchat.

How do I make a report?

Snapchat have some really easy guidance to reporting content within their app, the videos on this page cover how to report a story, a snap you’ve received, an account and content from advertisers or publishers. 

What happens when you make a report?

When you make a report on Snapchat, it is sent to the moderators at Snapchat to review. They will view the reported snap or account and decide if the content breaks the community guidelines. If it does break these guidelines the account/snap will be removed from the platform, and if the content is illegal Snapchat may

Who can see that you have made the report?

All reporting on Snapchat is anonymous. The person you report is not able to see that you have reported them, even if the report results in their content or account being removed.

What if you report by accident?

As each report is moderated by the team at Snapchat if you report something that does not break their community guidelines then no action will be taken.

Will the post get deleted?

If a post breaks Snapchat’s community guidelines then Snapchat have the right to delete the content, and if they deem it necessary then can also suspend or delete the account.

What breaks the community guidelines of Snapchat?

The full community guidelines can be found on Snapchat’s website. These include:

• Adult Content (e.g. pornographic content)
• Nudity or Sexually Suggestive Content Involving Minors 
• Illegal Content 
• Invasions of Privacy
• Threats & Violence
• Harassment & Bullying
• Impersonation
• Hate Speech
• Terrorism
• Spam

We have previously published blogs on Snapchat streaks, SnapMaps and reporting on Snapchat Stories.

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Exploring Education for a Connected World: Self-Image and Identity

In this series, Ken Corish, Online Safety Director for SWGfL and the UK Safer Internet Centre, takes an in-depth look at the new UKCCIS framework “Education for a Connected World”, discusses the topics covered in the framework and how the content could be used to shape appropriate and effective engagement with learners.

Social media and online technology often capitalises on our fascination with ourselves. Whether it’s the ever-present selfie, what we’re eating, where we are, who we are with, what we are doing; there are a whole host of apps and services that allow us to present ourselves in our best light and share it with everyone.

Social media provides an important avenue for self-expression, connection and communication. And yet, it is often easy to lose sight of how our use of those powerful technologies can influence our behaviour and attitude to ourselves. 

The Power of Image

The Safer Internet Day 2017 UK Safer Internet Centre research “The Power of Image” examined young people’s use of image based media. The research, which was conducted with 1,500 young people, revealed that the average number of photos taken before posting a selfie was 12 and that a “successful” selfie was one that received over 40 “likes”. 
 
Whilst this could be just a little care and attention about how we look, it’s interesting to consider how online culture demands what is the “right look” and how we are drawn into those requirements. Duck face? Dabbing? Face filters or lenses? Naked? What are the influences and pressures to conform or engage?

This strand of the frame work sets out to explore those influences and shape understanding around how technology might influence behaviour and attitude towards one’s self.
 
From the differences between online and offline identity: beginning with self-awareness, to shaping online identities, and how media impacts on gender and stereotypes, this strand identifies effective routes for reporting and support and explores the impact of online technologies on self-image and behaviour. 
 
It identifies effective routes for reporting and support and explores the impact of online technologies on self-image and behaviour. 

Education for a Connected World Framework: Self-Image and Identity

Very young children and ages up to seven:

• Considers consent and ways to challenge both on and offline relationships you might not be comfortable with
• Highlights ways in which a young person can tell someone to get support when they are feeling uncomfortable
• Examines differing identities; how they might look

Children seven to 11:

• Begins to define what identity is both on and offline and how they differ
• Offers strategies for making responsible choices when adopting an identity and how that changes depending on the context of who you are with and what you may be doing
• Explores how identity may be compromised through copying, altering or modifying
• Encourages examining how media can influence behaviours through targeting gender 
• What is a safe and effective way to report and share concerns

For young people 11 to 14:

• Describes how technology can be used for positive self-promotion
• Explores ways in which you can curate or experiment with identity in a way that empowers
• Demonstrates ways in which an online digital persona can influence the content we see in our social media feeds and internet searches
• Offers opportunities to assess the role digital media plays in our lives; the benefits and risks; and strategies to reduce those risks
• Considers ways in which online media can reinforce stereotypes and offers strategies to identify and rationalise when this happens
• Examines the pressures social media can place on us to engage
• How identity can be altered in the media through the use of ploy-manipulation 

For 14 to 18 examines more complex issues:

• Examines the types of content that can and/or have been deliberately designed to influence behaviour and body image
• Considers Artificial Intelligence and its impact on our present and future lives
• Explores strategies for positive self-promotion and how it can be shaped to improve future opportunities
• Offers strategies to challenge social norms and make informed decisions on identity with respect to gender, culture and social group
• Explores ways in which to challenge negative comments online concerning identity and how to identify and assist others that may need support
• Considers UK Law governing sexual content and the influence of that content on behaviour and relationships
• Examines positive online role models and explores examples from own media research
• Highlights how digital manipulation can be both positive and negative

SWGfL, a partner in the UK Safer Internet Centre, is currently in the process of developing resources and content to support each statement in the framework. These will be managed via a FREE online portal and available for any adult to use. 

In our next article in the Education for a Connected World series we will takes a deeper look at the second strand of the framework, Online Relationships. 

UK Government launches new Education Framework for a Connected World

Education for a Connected World

UKCISS

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Primary Digital Leaders give their thoughts on Safer Internet Day 2018

This Safer Internet Day a group of young people from across the UK were invited to the Safer Internet Day youth event in London. At this event the young people were able to take part in activities, present in the auditorium to guests, meet industry stakeholders and much more.

 Childnet Digital Leaders from Marner Primary School, one of the schools who attended the event, told us what they thought of the day:

First we did a quiz about internet there were questions like what kind of advice would you give to younger children about the internet?

Arafat

At first, when we arrived, I thought it was going to be boring but I had lots of fun. My confidence has definitely grown. I was talking to people I had never seen before. I met the minister of digital culture and we told her stuff that we knew about. I told her that I think you should be at least 13 years old to use social media. My best bit was showing adults around.

Basheera

When I went on my trip to safer internet day it was awesome. I was worried at first but there was no point because we were all creative and had our own ideas. We got used to each other and even faced our fears by standing on stage while being recorded saying our speeches which we made with only 1 rehearsal and this was a massive success. Some of the things we did were having a little chat about what you would do if you angry friend texts you saying a bad comment.                                                                          

Favor

When we arrived, we were given a space to put our things in like our coats and bags. Our first activity was about socializing with each, also known as getting to know each other. So we were given scenarios and we had to turn to the closest person to ourselves and talk about our opinions.

That was just a warm up. After the activity, Ellie, the person who was in charge of the activities, explained what areas of online safety the activities were based on. The big event was in the auditorium but first we had split into four groups : Industry, Schools, Parents/Carers, Young People. We had to plan what we were meant to say. We had a rehearsal and it went well . Later in the day, we preformed to over 160 people about internet safety. My favourite part of the trip was the microphone box being thrown around and when you catch it you must speak into the cross on the soft part. We were very lucky to have such a wonderful experience.

Jonathon

Thank you Ellie for picking Marner Primary school to come to BT. I never knew I had great ideas to tell the visitors. I liked it when the visitors came and said their ideas to me because I learnt something that I had no idea about. All the 4 school came together and watched a video about a man that rapped about the internet. When everyone came, we got split into groups and working together as groups and sharing our ideas was so fun.

Roseline

My thoughts and what we did in SID 2018!

I really liked the event because it was fun and we met people from different companies. We were on stage in front of many people [I was nervous!] We also were in charge as tour guides and we ran activities. We worked with four schools. At first I was nervous but then I was excited! We focused on a question but in four parts [ I was in parents and carers] the question was: How do you show respect and empathy online? As a parent or carer you should have a lot of time with your child about online and how to show respect and empathy online.

Sabbir

I really liked when we were inviting guests to our activity and showing them where everything is. When we were writing notes about our speech on the auditorium, I felt quite nervous because I didn’t know what to say. Our teacher for that day “Tom” inspired me to not be nervous. On the test run, I said only 2 notes into a sentence, but when all the guests were there, I had to be brave. I mostly enjoyed inviting guests and play with the BeeBot activity.

(Note): Thanks for giving us goody bags!

-From Tanim 

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Why compulsory RSE is so important

This International Women’s Day (IWD) Kat Tremlett, Professionals Online Safety Helpline practitioner, looks at compulsory sex and relationships education (RSE) and the positive impact it could have on future generations of women and girls, but more importantly men and boys perceptions of socially acceptable norms.

According to Childnet’s Project DeShame report (Dec 2017) 80% of young people aged 13-17 in the UK have “witnessed people their age using terms like ‘sket’ or ‘slut’ to describe girls” in a derogative way and over half of UK respondents aged 13-17 years (51%) said they have witnessed people their age circulating nude or nearly nude images of someone they know, while 6% have been the target of this behaviour. It’s more important now than ever to ensure that every young person has access to RSE.

The DfE recently published its consultation proposal around compulsory RSE in schools, (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/595828/170301_Policy_statement_PSHEv2.pdf) which will allow parents to withdraw their children from RSE classes. We believe every young person should have access to well taught RSE as not having access to it can, at best narrow the mind-set of a young person about sexuality, relationships and gender and, at the worst be an indicator of a potential safeguarding matter.

So why shout about this now? Obviously International Women’s Day provides the perfect platform for advocating a better education for all in the pursuit of diminishing violence against women and girls and of course to men and boys. But it’s more than this. The Professionals Online Safety Helpline saw a 280% rise in cases involving peer to peer sexual harassment in 2017 highlighting the very real need for compulsory RSE in schools.

Cases which previously may have been about an isolated incident involving non consensual sharing of youth produced sexual imagery or harassment have become increasingly complex with several different factors to unpick and work through. To read more about what we can do to tackle online sexual harassment in particular, please read this blog.

In part we have to give credit to positive campaigns such as the #MeToo in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, #NeverOK across university guilds in the UK, Time’s Up in the US and Dare 2 Care in the UK raising awareness and highlighting the sheer scale of the problem and making sure everyone knows it’s simply not OK. Movements such as these empower people, young and old alike, to come forward and share their stories which in turn for us means a rise in the number of cases involving sexual harassment.

But in order to stop people from having to share these horrific stories in the first placed education has to be the answer: not just learning what abuse looks like in a relationship but also what a healthy relationship looks like; what the laws in the UK state with regard to misogyny, stalking and harassment, sexual violence, equality and British values so that young people know where they stand, what is OK and more importantly what’s not.

Ignorance should not be an excuse, but being withdrawn from RSE could result in young people not recognising when they are at risk of abuse or identify a harmful behaviour. Perhaps, not having access to well-taught RSE could be cited as a reason for not knowing that they were doing something wrong in future.

So, this IWD let’s spread the message that compulsory RSE with no option to opt out is the only solution moving forward if we want to put an end to sexual harassment in the UK.

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Tackling online sexual harassment this International Women’s Day

Childnet, a partner in the UK Safer Internet Centre, looks at how we can tackle online sexual harassment this International Women’s Day.

Today is International Women’s Day, a global day that celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women as well as calling on everyone to ‘Press for Progress’ to achieve gender equality.

At Childnet, we see how the internet has transformed how we connect with others, form relationships, explore our identity and express ourselves. It has provided enormous opportunities for girls to take part in social action, express themselves and harness the power of the internet to make a real difference.

However, our work with children, schools, parents and carers also shows that the sexual harassment, misogyny and sexualisation is a real problem for many girls online. Now more than ever, we see a global call for ending violence and harassment against women and girls, and it is clear to us that this must look at the online world as well.

Sexual harassment is not a new phenomenon, but the ‘audience’ and ‘evidence’ provided by digital technology facilitates it and has opened the door for new forms of sexual harassment.

At Childnet we are currently working on Project deSHAME, a two and a half year collaborative project which looks at tackling online sexual harassment taking place amongst children and young people. Whilst our recent research showed that both girls and boys are being targeted by online sexual harassment by their peers, it also highlighted that this form of harassment takes place in a gendered context, with girls being more likely to be targeted than boys, particularly for some forms of online sexual harassment and these incidents often resulting in more negative outcomes for girls.

A recent survey of 1559 UK teens undertaken by Project deSHAME found that:

• Almost a third of girls ages 13-17 years (31%) have received unwanted sexual messages online from their peers (compared to 11% of boys) in the last year
• 1 in 10 of teens have been targeted with sexual threats such as rape threats in the last year
• 14% of girls aged 13-17 said a boyfriend or girlfriend had pressured them to share nude images in the last year (compared to 7% of boys)
• 65% of teens say that girls are judged more harshly than boys for rumours being spread about their sexual behaviour online

You can read the full report looking at peer-based online sexual harassment.

Project deSHAME aims to increase reporting of online sexual harassment as well as to improve how local communities, including schools and police, work together to deliver effective preventative interventions and to respond effectively and sensitively when young people do report.

Young people are a key part of helping to change behaviours and attitudes and our Youth Advisory Board are being consulted on each stage of the project. Afua, one of our Youth Board Member’s delivered a powerful and inspiring speech at this year’s Safer Internet Day event, looking at how young people can be at the forefront of creating a more respectful internet.

Together we can all come together to #PressforProgress!

What is online sexual harassment?

Online sexual harassment is unwanted sexual conduct on any digital platform and is recognised as a form of sexual violence.

Online sexual harassment encompasses a wide range of behaviours that use digital content (images, videos, posts, messages, pages) on a variety of different platforms (private or public).

It can make a person feel threatened, exploited, coerced, humiliated, upset, sexualised or discriminated against.

Please see our full definition of the types of online sexual harassment that can take place and how it can impact different groups of young people differently.

What can we do about it?

If you see online sexual harassment taking place, take action.

Report any content to the platform that you see it on. Each platform has a different way that you can report – find out more here. Remember, if you do make a report it will remain anonymous, this applies to any platform you may use.

It’s happening to a friend or someone I know

• If you know someone who is being targeted, make sure they are safe and they are receiving help. Listen and be there for them. Speak to them and encourage them to tell a trusted adult. This could be a teacher, parent, carer, older sibling or cousin.
• Think how about you can #PressforProgress and call out unwelcome behaviour online - don’t go along with it.

It’s happening to me

It can be really upsetting and worrying if you are being targeted by online sexual harassment. Remember, it’s never too trivial to tell someone. Reach out to an adult that you trust and can speak to. It’s not your fault, even if people have made it seem like it is and you shouldn’t be embarrassed. If it helps, ask a friend to come with you to talk to an adult. There are also places where you can get free and confidential support:

• Childline - You can get confidential help and advice about any problem that you may have. You can chat online at www.childline.org.uk or call for free 0800 1111  
• The Mix - Free confidential support for young people under 25 that will help you explore any issue that is worrying you and find organisations that can help you further. You can chat online at www.themix.org.uk or call for free on 0808 808 4994 
• Stonewall  - An organisation for all young lesbian, gay, bi and trans people – as well as those who are questioning. There’s helpful advice on their website and you can also find out about other local services in your area. www.youngstonewall.org.uk  

I’m a professional working with children

­If a young person comes to you and is being targeted by online sexual harassment by their peers make sure you:

• Take their report seriously and listen to them
• Respect their privacy and their choices without offering confidentiality. Make sure the young person knows that you will have to tell someone if you are worried about their, or another child’s safety.
• Make sure that any decisions you make are done in discussion with the young person and they always know why and how you are going to take the matter forward

The Professionals Online Safety Helpline (POSH) can assist professionals and volunteers who work with children and young people with any concern about online safety.
For further advice and resources please click here.

If you would like to be kept up to date with Project deSHAME then please sign up to our mailing list.

International Women’s Day

online sexual harassment

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Safer Internet Day 2018 youth event video content is now live!

The Safer Internet Day 2018 youth event video content is now live! The videos show what happened at the London Safer Internet Day event, as well as key speeches from young people, industry and government.

Two members of the Childnet Youth Advisory Board played important parts in this year’s Safer Internet Day London event, read about their experiences and watch the videos below.

Afua, a member of the Childnet Youth Advisory Board, gave a Key note speech at the Safer Internet Day London event:

The 6th February had been marked in my planner in red with a big smiley face for a long time. As the time grew nearer it became more real and so did everything else like essay deadlines all for the same day but because I wanted to be part of #Safer Internet Day 2K18 my priorities were set. I had cleared the day in advance and wanted to honour my commitment to make the keynote speech and be one of the young people who spoke at the podium that day. The writing of the keynote speech was not difficult as it was very relevant. This is because as a Childnet Youth board member I had been exposed to the ideas in this year’s theme “Create, Connect and Share Respect: a better internet starts with you”.  The most exciting guest I met was not one but two amazing young pupils who did not hesitate to enthusiastically take myself and my mother downstairs to check out one of the stations. My biggest challenge was practicing my speech, but this was easily overcome by Ellie’s suggestion to do it in front of the camera, it not only boosted my confidence, but it also helped my words flow more freely. Also, the camera guy (Matt) was so helpful in suggesting that I repeat the first sentence of my speech again at the end to give my audience a chance to remember the main message.

Overall, my biggest take away-s are #ItStartsWithUs, we should continue to be the change we want to see in this world and Share Respect. Instead of merely sharing posts and banter always remember to dab in a bit of respect. I like that. (Arghh I should have said that in my speech)

Watch the full speech:

 

Charlie, a member of the Childnet Youth Advisory Board, was the chair of the Safer Internet Day London event:

Safer internet day 2018 was amazing. To be there representing young people was a huge honour and I really felt that the young people who were involved had fantastic ideas in their presentations and I am confident that these ideas were listened to and will be put into action. What an inspiring venue the BT centre was. The best part of the day was the conference itself it was a real eye opener and was an experience that I will keep with me forever. I also loved doing the live stream on Facebook with Afua showing the interactive workshops as I thought they really showed how young people can stay safe on the internet. It was great meeting everyone, especially the Childnet group, I particularly enjoyed listening to Michael Bell (Member of the Department for Education).  It was a challenge to host a conference talking in front of that many people, however because I feel passionate about this subject it was great that so many people turned up to listen to us the young people and our opinions. After it had finished I was confident that I had done a good job and the conference was a success.

Huge shout out to Ellie and all the team for organising such a fantastic interactive event.

Roll on Safer Internet Day 2019!!

Watch the full event video:

 

Safer Internet Day

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Children’s digital lives central to key consultations

UK Safer Internet Centre responds to key consultations relating to children’s experiences online.

This month has seen the close of the Department for Education’s call for evidence on changes to sex and relationship education and PSHE in schools, as well as their consultation on changes to the statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe In Education (KCSIE). Both of these sought views on how best to support schools in embedding digital aspects within safeguarding and preventative education.

The KSCIE consultation also included the opportunity to feed back on new departmental non-statutory advice document covering sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in schools and colleges, which has been shaped by our youth research into online sexual harassment among 13-17s and our Youth Advisory Board of Project deSHAME.

Meanwhile, this week is the final chance to contribute to the ICO’s consultation into their draft guidance about children and the GDPR, as well as have your say about the Department of Health’s green paper about transforming children and young people’s mental health provision.

Addressing a similar theme, the Science and Technology Committee launched an inquiry last week into the impact of social media and screen-use on young people’s health.

This activity is set against the backdrop of the DCMS consultation into the government’s Internet Safety Strategy, which closed in December and is currently being analysed.

This breadth of activity reflects the importance of understanding the impact of digital technology on children and young people’s lives and how key sectors, including education, health, the internet industry, government and wider, can work collaboratively to effectively promote children’s wellbeing.

At the UK Safer Internet Centre we look forward to continuing to work with all of these sectors to develop effective, child-focused and evidence-led solutions to the challenges we face to ensure that all children thrive online.

Our responses

• Childnet Response to the DCMS Internet Safety Strategy Green Paper
• SWGfL Response to the DCMS Internet Safety Strategy Greenpaper
• Childnet Response to the Department for Education consultation on changes to the statutory guidance Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) and a new departmental non-statutory advice document covering sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in schools and colleges.
• SWGfL response to the proposed changes to Keeping Children Safe in Education
• Childnet Response to the Department for Education call for evidence on Changes to the teaching of Sex and Relationship Education and PSHE
• SWGfL’s response to PHE’s Rise Above Mental Health Strategy
• SWGfL’s response to the Children’s Commissioner’s report into social media use among young people

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Young people took part in Safer Internet Day 2018 competition in Wales

For Safer Internet Day this year, SWGfL, a partner in the UK Safer Internet Centre, worked in collaboration with Welsh Government to run a competition for young people across Wales.

The competition called young people, aged 3 – 19 to take part in the Safer Internet Day 2018 campaign by expressing how they feel online through the mediums of art, film, music or words.

Young people of all ages took to their paintbrushes, score sheets, cameras and pens and unleashed their creativity to express their feelings. We received close to 300 entries and the standard was extremely high. The judges had a very difficult task on their hands and were thrilled to see the wonderful imagination, knowledge and variety of approaches to being online shown by young people in their entries.

The finalists in the competition were invited to the official Safer Internet Day event on 6 February at the Pierhead in Cardiff and shared their creations with those who attended. The Cabinet Secretary for Education Kirsty Williams AM announced the winners and presented them with awards.

 Here are the winners of the Safer Internet Day 2018 competition in Wales.

Primary Category

Winner: Hafod y Wern Community Primary School in Wrexham – with their Safer Internet Day film created by Year 5 and Year 6 children.

Second place: St Peters RC Primary School in Cardiff – with a poem written by Miss Lia’s Year 3 class.

Secondary Category

Winner: Blackwood Comprehensive School in Gwent - ‘Internet space’ poem written by Rose Christmas in Year 9

Second place: Ceredigion Youth Service - with a film entitled ‘Snapchat safety’.

Highly commended

A highly commended award in the competition went to The Rofft School in Wrexham for their Safer Internet Day song.

You can see all winning entries and a wider selection of entries on the Wales Digital Learning platform Hwb.

Safer Internet Day

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Today is World Book Day - Celebrate with Digiduck!

Sharing a story with your child is such a special experience, and for World Book Day 2018 (Thursday 1st March) we have just the story for you!

The internet is an amazing resource, both for children and adults, but learning to navigate the online world can be hard at times, and mistakes are sometimes made.

Children need gentle guidance, and support from those that they trust, to be able to develop their online skills and safety knowledge, to get the best out of the internet and all that technology has to offer. 

The adventures of Digiduck

When Digiduck anonymously receives a picture of one of his friends looking silly, he is keen to share the joke. Will the help and advice of Wise_Owl (from Digiduck’s favourite website the ‘Family Farmyard’) influence his decision? You’ll have to read to find out!

Printed copies of Digiduck’s Big Decision are available in A4 size and contain questions for discussion with children aged 3-7, plus advice for teachers, parents and carers at the end.

Alternatively you can read our online ebook, or download the PDF version if you want to print your own copy. If you speak another language, Digiduck has been made available in Spanish and Norwegian too!

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