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CATS research projects
(for a detailed up to date information on all CATS projects read our latest Newsletter)

ONGOING PROJECTS

The United Nations Internet Safety Toolkit development

In May 2011 the United Nations Information Technology Unit commissioned CATS (Project Lead: Prof Julia Davidson in collaboration with a colleague from INHOPE - Karl Hopwood) to develop a toolkit for use by developing nations[1] wishing to establish a national Internet safety legislative and practice framework. Research on children and violence conducted by the UN (2006) pointed to the need for action at national level to protect children in the online world. The report stated that there is a need to strengthen attempts to protect children from sexual exploitation and that global standards for safety policy and practice should be developed. This document will act as a handbook providing examples of practice and checklists to enable practice. The toolkit is based loosely upon the ITU Child Online Protection policy that was launched in November 2008. The handbook and toolkit is designed for use by countries with no internet safety framework and for those currently developing a national framework. The handbook is based upon the latest and most relevant research findings and on current legislative and safety practice in different countries, it is expected that the toolkit will be adapted for use at national level. The Toolkit will be launched in early 2012 and will be presented by Prof Davidson at a meeting of the Arab Nations in Oman at the end of october. --

[1] In this document the term ‘developing nations’ is used to refer to nations at varying levels of Internet safety policy and practice development.

The US Sentencing Commission Expert Project
Prof Davidson is working with the US Sentencing Commission to enable development and enhancement of advice provided to sentencers in the US regarding the sentencing of Internet offenders. The first Expert Roundtable will be held in Washington DC in July 2011.

Understanding the Process of Online Grooming and Victim Selection: the Behaviours of Men who Target Children and Young People Online

The partnership is headed by Stephen Webster at the National Centre for Social Research, together with Prof Julia Davidson and Prof Toni Bifulco at Kingston University, and partners in Oslo (Prof Gottschalk), Belgium (Prof Pham) and Italy (Prof Caretti). The grant is for €430,000 over a 30 month period to scope out the legal and policy framework in member European countries of internet abuse and to investigate profiles of online groomers and to disseminate preventative messages to schools and parents in member countries. We are grateful for our partners for their support and contribution to this success. The project will run until 2012 and is sponsOred by the European Commission Safer Internet Plus Programme. (read project full press release, including notes to media editors and project contact information). Open this link to view the presentationabout EU project by Professor Julia Davidson, CATS co-director, at Family Online Safety Institute conference in Washington, US.

Metropolitan Police—Child Victims in the Investigative Process
An exploration of young victims experiences and perceptions of the investigative process, undertaken on behalf of the Metropolitan Police Child Abuse Investigation Command. This research aims to review police practice with child and young victims of sexual abuse in the context of the Every Child Matters Framework and a low national rate of criminal conviction for child sexual abuse cases. The aim is to highlight ways in which the process might be made less stressful for the child, and to inform the development of professional practice (achieving best evidence – ABE) and training in the sensitive area of interviewing child and young victims. The research aims to begin the process of affording young victims an opportunity to express a view regarding their treatment in, and experience of, the entire investigative process from allegation to case conclusion, focusing upon positive and negative aspects.

European Commission Safer Internet Programme- Child Victims online experiences and risk perceptions
Kingston University is part of a consortium with 8 European Partners. The project will build upon findings from the online groomers study in considering the child victims perspective and experience. It will include a systematic review of studies and research from 20 EU countries plus Russia, with a specific focus on abusive online experiences and offline abuse that have started in an online contact or where the contacts between the perpetrator and the young person have relied heavily on information and communication technologies. It will also include interviews with young victims of Internet abuse. A small number of offender interviews will also be included. Some of the issues of interest are: What patterns can be observed from the review on a European level that relate to areas of concern across different countries; how do different data collection methods impact on the type and the quality of the data obtained? (For example, telephone interviews, paper based surveys responded to in class-room settings, online questionnaires etc); When compared with other research on difficult and sensitive issues involving young persons, what is indicated in relation to disclosure and how does this compare with official statistics; Which behavioural patterns and risks seem to differentiate between specific groups of young people (for example in relation to gender or sexual orientation); Are there any reports that explore the perception of the young person with regard to the expression of their sexuality online and their interpretation of abusive practices; What are the individual risk factors, or risks related to the environment, leading to sexually abusive experiences?

View Online Behaviour Related to Child Sexual Abuse Literature Report published by ROBERT project.

Mainstreaming Attachment assessment into residential care
Lifespan RG have worked with St Christopher’s Fellowship over 5 years to help develop customised attachment assessments for adolescents in residential care. This is conducted in tandem with a Behavioural Management Programme.. This involves an enhanced assessment of the young people in the programme before and after the behavioural learning model being implemented. The aim is to improve outcomes for young people in care.

Evaluation of a Youth Violence Programme
The Lifespan Research group has been commissioned to evaluate this programme implemented by Guy’s & St Thomas Trust. It is a 3 year project, now in mid course. Prelimary reports can be accessed through Y.Ilan-Clarke@kingston.ac.uk.

Developing a child attachment measure for use in children’s services
St Christopher’s Fellowship have commissioned a research project to develop an attachment style assesment tool for 8-12 year olds bassed on the adult Attachment Style Interview. This is a one year funded project due to be completed by July 2011.

SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS

CATS Sandpit events
The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) at Kingston University has held a series of research sandpit events, led by CATS. The aim of these events was to address central, current policy issues, exploring where key research is needed to enhance understanding and inform policy and practice. Representatives from universities, public and private sector organisations playing a central role were invited on the basis of their knowledge and experience in the area. Each event allowed time for sub-groups to prepare a proposal for a joint project, and a plan of action. The events culminated in the preparation of collaborative outline research projects. The selected themes were Community Cohesion and Cybercrime and Security.

Conference: Improving Local services for Older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (OLGBT) adults
The key aim of the Project is to maximise the impact of research conducted by Dr Anne Cronin and Dr Andy King (2009). The research, funded by Tower Hamlets Borough Council, explored the experiences and needs of older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) adults. Despite Tower Hamlets’ existing commitment to LGBT equality, Cronin and King’s research was pioneering in linking together ageing and sexuality as part of the local authority’s remit towards improving adult services. Their report, ‘Older LGBT Matters’ was pivotal in informing the Tower Hamlets Sexual Orientation Equality Scheme. As such, it has already had a major impact on policy within the Borough. However, the Scrutiny and Equalities Team, the Adult Health and Wellbeing Directorate and the researchers recognised that wider dissemination, through a knowledge exchange project could have considerable impact on a range of services within the Borough. The Project was designed to maximise impact and was composed of three stages: an initial awareness raising conference; two knowledge exchange workshops for service providers; a ‘showcase’ conference to disseminate the results of PPIP and continue to raise awareness of the needs of older LGBT adults.
View conference flyer.

PREVIOUS PROJECTS

Engaging and understanding BME communities in Kingston, with special emphasis on Muslim communities
Funded by: ESRC and the Metropolitan Police
The aim of the research project was to gain an in-depth understanding of the experiences and opinions of local BME communities and to examine the practice of engagement experienced by communities and in particular identify (i) barriers to this and (ii) opportunities which enable engagement. The first phase consisted of an analysis of census data exploring borough demographics and the geographical placement of different BME communities. The second phase adopted a qualitative methodology built around in-depth, unstructured and participant-led interviews conducted via focus groups and individual one-to-one interviews with community representatives, local residents and other local stakeholders. A snapshot mapping of age, gender, borough of residence and country or origin inter alia of mosque-goers at the November 2009 Eid celebration was also conducted via a questionnaire. Further funding was awarded by the Metropolitan Police in 2011 to run training programmes for police officers based upon the resaerch findings, this training was very well received and has helped to inform policing practice in this area

UK Child Internet Safety Council reports

UKCCIS is an organisation established by and reporting to the Prime Minister, responsible for developing and overseeing the implementation of a Child Internet Safety Strategy. The Council is a forum enabling Government Departments and stakeholders - including industry and the third and public sectors - to contribute jointly to the development and delivery of the strategy for Child Internet Safety. Professor Julia Davidson, CATS co-director, is a member of council's Expert Research Panel.
UKCCIS Strategy Report
COJ Draft Report (November 2009)
Internet Safety Code

Final report on young people's internet use

Research led by prof Davidson and funded by the National Audit Office and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre has been published by the NAO. The research included an online survey of 11-16 year olds (n= 1808) & focus groups (n=83) with young people in the UK. Key findings suggest that a substantial proportion of children reported having engaged in high risk behaviour online (defined by degree to which they share information with strangers), 37% had shared an email address; 34% provided information about the school they attended; 23% provided a mobile number; 26% a personal photograph. A significant proportion said they will continue with such behaviour following Internet safety training (particularly 13+), only 36% said Internet safety training would make them more careful online. Focus group findings indicated that interacting with strangers (i.e. adding them as ISM or Facebook friends and exchanging messages) is becoming an accepted behaviour not perceived as ‘risk-taking.
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