According to the Mexican National Institute of Statistics and Geography, 29.9% of children have experienced online harassment.
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| Child grooming illustration |
Grooming is a phrase that has arisen to characterize various sexual harassments and abuses committed by adults online. It is a condition of power abuse when an adult approaches kids, typically boys and girls, to earn her confidence and eventually get engaged or ask for sexual favors. It is also known as online grooming.
According to the Save the Children organization, which is in charge of protecting children, this form of harassment is widespread among teenagers and children, because their state makes them sensitive to not recognizing when there is an abuse scenario.
The abuser strives to instill confidence in the youngster in order to intervene in his decisions in a gradual manner until he isolates him from his circle of trust in order to exert greater control. The pestering adult frequently disguises himself as a minor of the victim's age in order to create intimate connections.
Once the link between the abuser and the minor is formed, the latter typically asks sexual material from the victim and, in some situations, may transmit it without consent. Grooming is a sort of bullying in which the abuser uses psychological assault to fool the youngster.
Online harassment or grooming is so ubiquitous that it often goes unreported, although it can have a negative impact on the victims' life in unexpected ways.
According to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), in its report on complaints, 29.9% of users under the age of 19 in Mexico said that they have experienced some form of cyberbullying, including grooming, with women and girls being the most impacted. A scenario that has become worse over time.
It should be mentioned that cyberbullying of kids is not only of a sexual character, but also involves psychological harassment in the form of harsh and disrespectful remarks, as well as ridiculing and threats from known or unknown individuals.
Different organizations have cautioned that cyber harassment may occur in a variety of ways, including those already stated, as well as using kids' (and anyone's) data without their knowledge, such as uploading images or videos on social networks in order to display and issue mockery.
The phases of grooming
Save the Children considers that the phases of online grooming can be identified in:
1. Create a bond of trust with the minor: at this stage the abuser deceives the victim by presenting himself as vulnerable and complimenting the girl or boy.
2. Isolation: in this phase the aggressor seeks to turn the minor of his relatives against the victim trying to only have the support of the aggressor who seeks to keep the relationship secret through blackmail.
3. Assessment: the abuser seeks to reaffirm himself with the minor as a trusting relationship and his only support person.
4- Sex conversations : once the harasser is sure that the minor believes him, he tries to request materials of a sexual nature or sends pornographic content. This is one of the phases where grooming becomes effective through the abuse of power and coercion.