Online grooming, coercion and sexual or criminal exploitation

Grooming can begin in ways that seem normal: compliments, jokes, gaming chat, gifts, emotional support, claimed shared interests or a suggestion that the adult is the only person who understands the child. Contacts often move from public to private channels and may escalate to sexualisation, coercion, threats, requests for images, proposals to meet, offers of money or involvement in criminal activity.

CEOP Education notes grooming can take place across games, social media, messaging apps, live streams and chat spaces. Remember that grooming may be sexual or criminal and that some perpetrators message many children at once to identify who responds.

Common grooming tactics

• Fast intimacy: making the child feel chosen very quickly.
• Secrecy: moving chat away from public or monitored spaces.
• Personal information gathering: checking where the child is, who is nearby and how to reach them.
• Sexual or criminal pressure: normalising images, money drops, errands or risky meetings.
• Threats or guilt: making the child feel responsible for the adult's wellbeing or anger.

Grooming often becomes dangerous before it becomes obvious.