Are you using online dating apps? Here is how predators target you to get close to your kids...

I know friends, this is a hard one to hear but there is ACTUAL research that has now been released which has proven that ‘sharenting’ your kid’s photos online is putting you and them at risk.

The research was conducted by the Australian Institute of Criminology in conjunction with the eSafety Commissioners office and the Universtity of New South Wales. The research paper called, ‘Prevalence and predictors of requests for facilitated child sexual exploitation on online platforms 2024’ was written by S Minihan, M Burton, M Nicholas, K Trengove, S Napier and R Brown. 

The focus of the study was on adult participants receiving online requests to facilitate (arrange or assist) the sexual exploitation of children they had access to (referred to as facilitated Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)).

The study broke down whether the participants had been asked for:

• sexual images of a child/children they knew,
• pressuring them for sexual images of a child/children they knew,
• asking questions of a sexual nature about a child/children they knew (questions asked related to their puberty and menstruation etc) or,
• offering payment for sexual images of a child/children they knew.

The conclusion of the overall research was that:

• Women were being approached and groomed online for potential physical access to a child/children in their care,
• Men were most commonly being approached online to facilitate and produce Child Exploitation Material of a them abusing a child/children in their care,
• Parents/participants who had photos of their children on their dating profiles with links to their other social media had an increased risk of being targeted for CSE,
• Someone living with a disability, had a linguistic diverse background or experienced other online harms were 3 times at risk of being approached and preyed upon by predators.

Overall results identified that online dating apps and social media are being used to procure access to children for the purpose of abusing them.

Here are ways to keep our kids safe whilst using online dating apps or social media:

• Don’t use photos of your children in your dating profiles.
• Don’t share names, ages and personal information about children in your care on your dating profiles or social media bios.
• Just list yourself as a parent. Potential partners or acquaintances don’t need to know more than that to consider you as a potential date.
• Don’t share details of your children with new or recently matched prospects. They are there to date you, not your child.
• Someone asking overly personal questions about your children including questions about puberty, interested in the children’s social media, makes sexualised comments about the child is a RED FLAG and should be blocked/reported.
• Be mindful of anyone who is keen to meet your child/ren quickly. Again, they are there to date you, not your children.

For more information about predatory behaviours and red flags of potential abuse, check out my book Operation KidSafe - a detective's guide to child abuse prevention via Amazon and Audible. https://www.amazon.com.au/Operation-KidSafe-detectives-guide-prevention/dp/0645026859