klicksafe parent campaign #EveryFourthChild on the topic of cybergrooming"Your kid gambles online with friends. Or strangers?" Online campaign raises parents' awareness of sexual assaults on children online - and provides practical tips

Düsseldorf/Ludwigshafen, 22.09.2022 - Is the daughter's new chat acquaintance really still a teenager herself or is she just pretending to be? What should you do if your child is sexually harassed on the Internet? Starting on September 22, the EU initiative klicksafe is devoting itself to the topic of cybergrooming in an extensive campaign under the hashtag #EveryFourthChild.

Children and young people being harassed online has become a widespread phenomenon: Almost a quarter of all 8- to 18-year-olds, and thus one in four children, according to the results of a representative study commissioned by the Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia in December 2021, have already been asked out online by strange adults. Every seventh child has already been sent nude photos by strangers without being asked, and just as many have been urged to undress in front of a webcam or smartphone camera for an adult internet acquaintance.

"A quarter of all children and young people are contacted in a sexualized manner on the net. These current survey figures are extremely alarming. It is also alarming that such acts are rarely reported. This situation places a responsibility on all of us. Above all, parents, teachers and other caregivers of children need to become collectively aware of the dimension behind the term cybergrooming. Accordingly, the klicksafe campaign explicitly targets parents so that they can recognize warning signals and take the right action in an emergency," says Dr. Tobias Schmid, Director of the Media Authority NRW.

"Your child shares photos with friends. Or strangers?" With provocative questions like these, klicksafe is also addressing those parents who have not yet dealt intensively with the dangers of cybergrooming as part of its social media campaign on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Practical assistance and background knowledge on the topic are also provided by an explanatory video, the information brochure "And then he wanted nude photos - How to make your child strong against sexual harassment online" and a family checklist to work through together. The klicksafe website www.klicksafe.de/JedesVierteKind bundles all campaign modules on children's experiences with sexualized harassment online. The new materials are available there free of charge as a download or as a print version to order.

The electronic press kit for the campaign, including images and video material, can be downloaded here www.klicksafe.de/JedesVierteKind-Pressekit. klicksafe experts from the Media Authority NRW are available for interviews.

On September 15, 2022, klicksafe already launched a campaign on the topic of cybergrooming in cooperation with the online counseling platform JUUUPORT.de with the hashtags #WehrDICH and #GegenCybergrooming, which directly addresses children and young people. The focus of this campaign is on strengtheningchildren and young people so that they can protect themselves from targeted contact initiation online and defend themselves against it. After all, when children and young people are online in social media, they should know how to protect their own profiles and report and block contacts. It is also important that they know contact points and are equipped to seek help if they are affected by sexualized violence online. More information on the campaign "Wehr Dich! Against sexualized violence online" can be found at klicksafe.de/wehr-dich and klicksafe.de/wehr-dich-pressekit.

klicksafe aims to promote people's online competence and to support them in their competent and critical use of the Internet with a wide range of offers. The EU initiative is politically and economically independent and is implemented in Germany by the media institutions in Rhineland-Palatinate (coordinator) and in North Rhine-Westphalia. On the website www.klicksafe.de, users can find a wide range of up-to-date information, practical tips and teaching materials on digital services and topics. The target groups are teachers, educational professionals, parents, children, young people and multipliers. klicksafe is the national, German awareness center and is funded by the Digital Europe Program (DIGITAL) of the European Union. Since 2008, klicksafe has also coordinated the Safer Internet Centre DE, which includes the Internet hotlines of eco, FSM and jugendschutz.net as well as the helpline Nummer gegen Kummer.

Hashtag

#EveryFourthChild

Social media

facebook.com/klicksafe
twitter.com/klicksafe
instagram.com/klicksafe
youtube.com/user/klicksafegermany