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BBC - Children warned of net stranger danger
Hi all
A story from the BBC about child protection on the Internet.
Cheers
David
Wednesday, 15 March, 2000, 21:15 GMT
Children warned of net stranger danger
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_678000/678101.stm
Parents are being warned of the dangers of the internet
An internet security code has been launched to protect children
from paedophiles and pornographers.
It aims to warn children that people they meet on chatlines
could pose a danger.
The code has been drawn up by the European Research into
Consumer Affairs (Erica), a charity which undertakes research to
protect vulnerable consumers.
It aims to ensure children who use the internet are aware of the
potential dangers, and schooled in how best to avoid them.
These dangers were demonstrated when two 15-year-old girls from
Cumbria ran away to Manchester to meet up with people they had
befriended in a chat room.
Best friends Leanne Reichert and Natasha Bruce went missing for
three nights.
Leanne's mother Linda said she had had no idea where the girls
had gone.
"We sent them off to school one morning and they never turned
up," she told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"I rang the school and found out that they hadn't been to school
the day before which we hadn't realised."
She said she rang the police launching a big manhunt.
"Leanne had been on the internet for about a year and they just
decided to go away."
She said Leanne did not realise it could be dangerous.
Both girls came home safely and Leanne has now been banned from
using the internet.
'People can pretend'
Ann Davison, the director of Erica, said the guidelines were to
enable children to use the internet and to have fun.
"There is stranger danger on the net," she said.
"Don't think of people you chat to online as being people you
know. They are still strangers. People can pretend and they do
pretend."
The new guidelines include:
· Do not give out your home address, phone number or school.
· Don't arrange to meet anyone you talk to online or send them
your picture.
· People do not always tell the truth on the internet and are
not always who they seem.
· Tell parents or teachers if you get nasty messages.
John Carr, is the internet consultant for NCH Action for
Children.
He said by looking at case studies in the US you could see the
potential for similar situations in Britain.
"There are currently 300 men serving prison sentences for sexual
offences where the initial contact was made over the internet,"
Mr Carr said, quoting figures from the FBI.
He said the key was to learn from the experiences in America.
"Even though your children may be accessing the internet in your
living room it's actually not that safe," Mr Carr said.
"Most of it is safe all of the time, some of it is safe most of
the time but some of it is unsafe all of the time," he said.
He said the campaign aimed to alert parents and children to the
dangers on the net.
"Only a fool would tell their kids not to use the internet. But
nothing in life is 100% safe and the internet is no exception."
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