Which platform the perpetrator takes first contact with the child on varies.
But Snapchat is clearly the place where it is worst, says Bodil Liv Holm, Danish Save the Children's manager for protection against digital abuse, to DR.
She gets support from Frida Lindström.
Most cases we have occur on Snapchat. The whole point of the platform is that pictures and messages are deleted, which facilitates for the perpetrators, she says.
In cases of grooming that the IT crime center looks at, the common denominator is that people have gotten children to send naked pictures or perform sexual acts on themselves that are filmed and sent.
Threats come earlier
It can be about perpetrators who lure with rewards in exchange for pictures or that an adult pretends to be a young person and sends a naked picture first and asks for one back in exchange. The material can then be used as blackmail.
We see that grooming has gone from previously often being built up over months to now being able to happen over just one day, and the threats can come directly, says Frida Lindström.
Save the Children's psychologist Hanna Thermaenius testifies to the same trend.
As a parent, warnings and prohibitions are not the most effective method for protecting your child, according to her.
The entire independence development is much about things that are thrilling and exciting. Try instead to explain to your child that they will encounter difficult and unpleasant situations but can still come to you for support.
She also tips on getting into and asking questions about the child's social everyday life. But there are also warning flags to keep an eye on.
If they suddenly have belongings you don't know about or seem to have more money to spend. Another warning flag is if they absolutely don't want anyone to look at their phone, but just as much if they put away their phone and don't seem to want to look at it at all themselves, she says.
Want to see age verification
Save the Children in Denmark want Snapchat to do more to counteract grooming, for example by introducing age verification.
Frida Lindström thinks that the cooperation between the police and the social media platforms, including Snapchat, has become better, but she agrees that age verification would have been desirable.
At the same time, the problem exists on all social media and across the entire internet, she says.
Grooming means that a person takes contact with children with the intention of committing some form of sexual offense against the child.
Contact is often initiated with flattery and praise, to then transition to various types of coercion and threats. The perpetrator can also offer bribes or gifts.
Sexual abuse on the internet is often non-physical to begin with – for example, by the child being prompted to send pictures or pressured to pose in front of a webcam. This material can then be used as blackmail. In this way, the child's boundaries are gradually shifted.
Source: The Swedish Agency for Support to Innovation
