LydiaCLee @LydiaCLee - Twitter Profile

There is a dangerous misconception about child sexual abuse and grooming. We need to talk about it. In light of the allegations surrounding David Walliams, and his statement that he is not a sexual predator, we need to understand what grooming means. Deliberately grooming a child for sexual exploitation is predatory behaviour. That is a safeguarding principle, not a conclusion about anyone facing allegations. A child doesn’t have to recognise they’re being groomed for grooming to be taking place. ITV News reports allegations from women who say they experienced grooming, including accounts of contact beginning at just 15. One describes how attention from a celebrity made her feel special. Walliams denies the allegations. That must be acknowledged. But the wider safeguarding conversation matters. I talk regularly about the 90-10 statistic. The vast majority of children who experience sexual abuse know the person responsible. Abuse is often hidden in plain sight, behind trust, admiration and power. As a child, you don’t necessarily have the vocabulary or understanding to recognise manipulation or exploitation. You may feel special. Chosen. Important. A child can feel special and still be exploited. A child can trust someone and still be abused. Sometimes it takes adulthood to recognise how frightening or abusive childhood experiences were. We must stop asking why children didn’t speak out, maintained contact or took years to understand what happened. We need to stop judging childhood experiences through adult understanding. Safeguarding means educating adults about warning signs, manipulation and power imbalances, while empowering children without making them responsible for preventing abuse. Children should never have to recognise abuse before adults recognise their responsibility to protect them. This is why I campaign. Until we understand grooming, we will keep having these conversations. And I am not here for another conversation. I am here for change. @Project9010 #Project9010 #NotMyShame #HiddenInPlainSight #ChildSafeguarding