Crime Prevention – Safer Internet Day 2022

On this month’s Crimecall, Sergeant Graham Kavanagh came to studio to discuss Safer Internet Day which will take place on 8 February 2022.  Its aim is to create awareness of a better internet for ALL users but in particular children and young people. In Ireland Safer Internet Day is coordinated by Webwise.  Webwise offers resource and support for schools, teachers, parents and families. An Garda Siochana also work with Webwise throughout the year promoting online safety.  Safer internet Day is a community wide initiative which sees children, teens, teachers, schools and clubs lead online safety campaigns in their own communities. 

Why is a safer internet so important? 

The internet is very much a part of our children and teens lives, with children accessing the internet from an increasingly young age. Recent findings from a national survey of children, their parents and adults regarding online safety highlight: 

• 62% of children and young people, aged 9-17 year, use social media. 

• children and their parents or carers have different perceptions of children’s’ experiences. For example, 53% of parents say they help their child when something bothers them on the Internet. This contrasts with 19% of children who report telling a parent about issues that have upset them online. 

• Less than half of parents are aware of contact and conduct risks their children have experienced 

Advice for Parents 

                                                                        Talk...Listen…Learn

It’s never too late to start a conversation with your child about their online world and using the internet.  A great starting point is the Webwise Parents hub: webwise.ie/parents.  There are free guides, expert advice videos, talking points and explanations to popular apps.  For Safer Internet Day, Webwise are encouraging families to #TalkListenLearn.  They have developed a great, fun tool to help families come together. The topic generators encourage families to sit down and have an open discussion using the questions on the website.  https://talklistenlearn.webwise.ie/ 

Schools, teachers, children, organisations can all get involved in Safer Internet Day.  There are numerous lessons and resources available on webwise.ie and you can see what other great activities are taking place across Ireland. 

What other supports/resources are available? 

An Garda Síochána are delighted to work with Webwise on the development of a series of new talks for schools addressing an extremely important topic; cyberbullying and promoting respectful online communication.  These talks are available for primary and post primary schools and are delivered by trained members of An Garda Síochána.  The aim of the talks is to try and prevent cyberbullying from happening and to empower pupils to respond effectively if cyberbullying and harassment does occur.

Another new resource available to post-primary schools from Webwise is a dedicated lesson raising awareness around the new the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act which is also known as Coco’s Law. The aim of the talk is to reinforce the message that the making, taking, permitting to be taken, showing, possession and/or distribution of indecent images of minors is a criminal offence. The objective in delivering this talk is to try to prevent this behaviour from happening by empowering students with this knowledge.