“They used to be hiding in the bushes on the playground, now they’re on the Internet,” says Karen Basciano, public education co-ordinator for the Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre.

There can be danger lurking on the Internet and the Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre and local police are making an effort to help parents and caregivers safeguard their children. At two presentations Wednesday held at the Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre, Constable Sherry Jank of Peterborough Lakefield Community Police was scheduled to talk to parents about the potential risks when children log on and what safety precautions caregivers can take, says Karen. The presentations are part of the YWCA’s annual Week Without Violence.

Karen, who has a nine-year-old son, wasn’t aware herself of the hazards until she completed the research. She was shocked to learn pedophiles may fly across the world to meet children they’ve connected with in a chat room. She has also heard stories of 40-year-old men posing as 14-year-old boys to spark the interest of young girls.

“It’s important for parents to realize the ultimate danger their kids could be in,” she says.

“I don’t think parents are aware of the dangers on the Internet.”

Karen attended a presentation at her son’s school recently given by a Toronto police detective who talked about detectives posing as 12-year-old girls online and getting dozens of hits in just a few minutes. On the local police website, parents can read the story of Shannon, a young girl who was tricked into meeting a police officer posing as a teen at http://www.peterboroughpolice.com/tips.html.

On the website, police note while the Internet is a valuable tool, it’s “easy to stumble into ‘adult’ content sites.” Sometimes, keying in an apparently “innocent” word into a search engine can send the user in the direction of an adult site. “Many of the adult websites will connect these basic or seemingly unrelated words to their site so that they will appear in the list of subject sites you had intended to receive,” the site notes.

Karen says the emphasis of the presentations is on encouraging parents to ensure they know what their children are getting up to online. By putting the computer in a frequented room in the home, like the living room or kitchen, parents can keep a watchful eye on their children, notes Karen. The constable was also expected to discuss software that can help block access to unwanted sites.

Karen says in her case, her son doesn’t have Internet access on his computer and has to ask for supervised permission to use his father’s computer which is connected to the Web.

Peterborough Lakefield police also offer these safety tips on its site:

Never give out personal information like your name, city, address and phone number. Just as important, be careful about what information your child or you reveal about yourself — like the name of your sports team, school name or where you work

Spend time with your children on the Internet. Let them show you the sites they frequent and find out where and who they talk to online. Children should not be left unsupervised to entertain themselves on the Internet

Be aware of how much time they spend on the computer. New users often spend a lot of time surfing initially but make sure you know exactly what is capturing all their attention.

Familiarize yourself with the computer system and the Internet. You will be in a much better position to look out for your child if you have a basic understanding or better.

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