Following a grooming experience, the child may suffer numerous negative effects such as embarrassment, irritability, anxiety, stress, depression, and substance abuse. Even in the absence of physical sexual abuse, the child may be traumatized and suffer long-lasting emotional damage caused by non-contact sexual abuse.
Desensitization to touch and discussion of sexual topics: Abusers will often start to touch a victim in ways that appear harmless, such as hugging, wrestling and tickling, and later escalate to increasingly more sexual contact, such as massages or showering together.
Predators use fake profile pictures, fake ages, fake shared hobbies, etc. They establish an online relationship with the victim, complimenting them and gaining their trust, until the groomer moves toward sexual conversations, and eventually, even using those inappropriate photos as blackmail.
Predators seek personal information like your address, school, or phone number, which they may use to find your whereabouts in order to plan a physical attack. They may also ask details about your personal life and relationships.
Grooming Signs of an Online Sexual Predator
Wanting or asking to spend more time on the internet. Being secretive about the sites they visit or who they are talking to online.
Anybody can be a groomer, no matter their age, gender or race. Grooming can take place over a short or long period of time – from weeks to years. Groomers may also build a relationship with the young person's family or friends to make them seem trustworthy or authoritative.
The expert testified that grooming includes such behaviors as showing a child extra attention, complimenting them, giving gifts, making promises and increasing contact —behaviors that may seem innocent to the lay person.
Perpetrators utilize tactics such as gift giving, flattery, gifting money, and meeting other basic needs. Tactics may also include increased attention and affection towards the targeted child.
A male predator tends to view aggression and violence as necessary characteristics. He may enjoy pornography, telling sexually offensive jokes or making suggestive or offensive comments about women. He will quickly dismiss questionable comments or statements, by saying he didn't mean it or was "just joking."
Examples of grooming behaviour may include: giving gifts or special attention to a child or young person, or their parent or carer, making the child or young person feel special or indebted to an adult. making close physical contact sexual, such as inappropriate tickling and wrestling or play fighting.
Children who have been victimised and experienced grooming are likely to suffer from serious long-term mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and suicidal thoughts.
Talk to your friends. A good friend will listen to you and may help you speak to an adult. Think about reporting it to the police. If the grooming has taken place online, you should also report what's happened to the website or forum where you met and chatted to the person who groomed you.
Typically, it's best for children under 13 not to engage in romantic relationships as they are still developing emotionally and cognitively. Healthy friendships are encouraged for teenagers between 13 and 15, but romantic relationships could be too much for them to handle.
"Half-your-age-plus-seven" rule
An often-asserted rule of thumb to determine whether an age difference is socially acceptable holds that a person should never date someone whose age is less than half their own plus seven years.
In short, research seems to indicate that in many cultures, an age gap of 1 to 3 years is considered ideal — but some researchers suggest even a relationship with an age gap of less than 10 years will bring more satisfaction.
The worst danger is 'grooming' — someone building a relationship with a child in order to sexually abuse them. This abuse can happen in a physical meeting, but it increasingly happens online when children or young people are tricked or persuaded into sexual activity on webcams or into sending sexual images.
Page 1. Grooming is a tactic where someone methodically builds a trusting relationship with a child or young adult, their family, and community to manipulate, coerce, or force the child or young adult to engage in sexual activities.
The predator identifies a victim who seems vulnerable, often looking for a child with low self-esteem, an obedient/compliant personality, or mental disability. If possible, he or she also assesses the child's home life for signs that the parents are uninvolved or pre-occupied.
Children between the ages of 12 and 15 are especially susceptible to be groomed or manipulated by adults they meet online. According to the F.B.I., over 50 percent of the victims of online sexual exploitation are between the ages of 12 and 15.
A predator will often start asking for pictures of their target and may request to video chat with their target in private. Eventually, the predator will start making sexual comments to their target. Predators will also tell their target to lie.