Centre for Abuse & Trauma Studies and Kingston University
Abstract
The ThinkuKnow (TUK) programme is managed by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) and is part of its programme to reduce the harm caused by those individuals that seek to abuse children and young people through the misuse of technology. It is part funded by the European Commission's (EC) Safer Internet Plus programme and aims to provide Internet safety advice to children and young people aged between 5?16 years of age, as well as information for parents and support for professionals who work directly with them. It concentrates on three key messages: how to have fun; how to stay in control; and how to report a problem. Although the main focus is on sexual abuse and exploitation, such as grooming, the programme covers other aspects of Internet safety and security. The TUK programme is delivered by a network of trained and vetted volunteers, drawn from professionals who work directly with children, such as teachers, police officers and child protection workers. As part of its funding agreement with the EC CEOP agreed to commission an independent evaluation of the TUK programme aimed at 11-16 year olds. This is the oldest part of that programme and was launched in September 2006. This research aimed to explore young people's understanding and awareness of messages from the CEOP TUK Internet safety programme, whilst also exploring young people?s Internet use and risk taking behaviour. The research incorporated two stages: a qualitative stage which included 21 focus groups with 84 young people (49 girls and 35 boys) in schools throughout the UK who have received the TUK programme. The second stage of the research involved a large survey of 1,718 young people across the UK aged 11-16 years old1. In total over 1,800 young people participated in the research, making this one of the largest, recent studies of young people and Internet safety in the UK. The study also included 11 face-to-face and telephone interviews with TUK trainers
