You Know When We Told You, That The SS Had No Real Idea Of What They Were Doing?

Published : 25th July 2013

Social workers need more support in dealing with online abuse of children [sic]

"Social workers are in desperate need of specialist training in how to spot the warning signs that a child is being targeted for sexual abuse online, a survey by the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) and the NSPCC reveals.

Half of all social workers surveyed by BASW and the NSPCC said they felt concerned about dealing with online sexual abuse or behaviour. Over two thirds of social workers felt they needed more support with child protection cases involving online abuse.

Other findings from the survey included:

• Almost half (49%) of social workers said that 25% of their sexual abuse cases now involve some form of online abuse

• A third (34%) of social workers said they do not feel confident about understanding the language used by young people online

• 47% said they were not knowledgeable about how young people communicate via social networking sites

• 36% felt they did not know the right questions to ask to identify and assess online sexual abuse

• 30% said they did not feel confident dealing with child protection sexual abuse cases using the internet

• 50% say they don’t know what how to recognise the signs of the online sexual abuse of children

Comments from social workers responding to the survey included:

"We are way out of our depth and training measures are needed without delay.""

http://www.basw.co.uk/news/article/?id=556#.UfZrlZJuCo0.twitter

Social workers raise online grooming fears 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23471982

Keep Calm and Carry on. Or Why BASW Must Stop Escalating Fears and Anxieties

http://moralpanicseminarseries.wordpress.com/2013/07/27/keep-calm-and-carry-on-or-why-basw-must-stop-escalating-fears-and-anxieties/