Pubertal children are vulnerable to child molestation because their level of awareness to certain non-verbal cues is immature. They do not know the difference between a person who can be trusted and a person who is not. Sometimes, paedophile, who is sexually attracted to children, can often look so harmless. They can be anyone, from any background or even a ‘trusted’ person. They can be men or women, a good teacher, a babysitter, a family member or a pious person!
Remember that a paedophile can be:
Paedophiles tend to target children with:
Paedophiles often approach their targets by using many different techniques. They gain children’s trust by making them feel safe, kindness, provide emotions that are missing (parental love, praises, rewards and happiness). Paedophiles often target children with absence of emotional and physical presence of their parents, those who are the most vulnerable ones.
Child Grooming is a term used to describe the paedophile’s persistent and convincing actions to gain a child’s trust and even their parents. This can continue for weeks, months or years until the first incident were to happen.
Remember that a paedophile can be:
- Man/woman of any age
- Person from any level of income
- Person from any race/ethnicity
- Any professional and non-professional occupation
Paedophiles tend to target children with:
- Low self esteem
- Problematic domestic backgrounds (physically or emotionally absent parents)
- Quiet/loner
- Easily trust strangers
- Parents who trust them and gave authority to care
- A child with no knowledge about sex.
Paedophiles often approach their targets by using many different techniques. They gain children’s trust by making them feel safe, kindness, provide emotions that are missing (parental love, praises, rewards and happiness). Paedophiles often target children with absence of emotional and physical presence of their parents, those who are the most vulnerable ones.
Child Grooming is a term used to describe the paedophile’s persistent and convincing actions to gain a child’s trust and even their parents. This can continue for weeks, months or years until the first incident were to happen.
How do paedophiles groom or lure children?
- Being close to their parents, especially single parents to gain access to their children.
- Being extremely nice, likable and kind.
- Offering babysitting services at cheap cost or even free.
- Participating in events involving children.
- Hanging around places with many children (playgrounds, kindergartens, primary schools, arcades)
- Becoming foster parents.
- Bribe children by providing free meals, candy, money, and or anything children might like
- The offender may use their positions as coaches, clergy, parents, scout leaders, etc. to be intimidate or force children into sexual exploitation or abduction.
- Offenders may suggest innocent body contact games such as tickling or wrestling to facilitate sexual contact.
- Molesters may blackmail or threaten children into cooperation or silence. They may even confront the child with an actual weapon (i.e. "Get in the car or I’ll shoot you/your family").
- Many child molesters routinely expose their intended victims to pornography thus "normalizing" sexual activity and setting the stage for seduction.
- Molesters will often use drugs, especially alcohol to incapacitate or seduce children. The lure of drugs is often used in conjunction with pornography.
- Communicating with children through social media and free chat applications.
