Overview

Images and videos are increasingly used as tools to exploit, groom, and control young people. This course explores how imagery is weaponised through threats, blackmail, and coercion, in contexts such as sextortion, child on child abuse, gang exploitation, and county lines activity. Participants will examine real-world tactics used by offenders, including how young people can be forced to create or share content that is then used to silence, manipulate, or recruit them. With a focus on practical safeguarding responses, this session equips professionals with the knowledge to identify image-based exploitation, support victims, and disrupt the power such imagery holds.

Learning Objectives

Participants will:

• Understand what to look out for to protect young people from harm.Understand how imagery is used to groom, exploit, and control young people.
• Recognise the role of image-based abuse in county lines, gang affiliation, and online grooming.
• Identify indicators of coercion, blackmail, and peer image sharing.
• Learn how to respond to incidents involving image-based exploitation, including appropriate language and safeguarding procedures.