Engl. transl.: Online Grooming in Portugal: an exploratory study (translated by the coder)

The online grooming – grooming of children and teenagers over the internet – has been the subject of concern among international studies. However, the portuguese context is characterized by the relative lack of knowledge about the phenomenon. This study aims to learn the experiences, perceptions and insecurities of young people about online grooming, as well as to reveal numbers of victimization. We intend also to analyze gender and age differences, both in terms of victimization both in terms of perception of the severity of online grooming and feeling of insecurity regarding the phenomenon. We opted for an exploratory quantitative study and data was collected through a questionnaire prepared for that purpose. The sample consisted of 151 participants, 76 (50.3%) were male and 75 (49.7%) were female. The results of this study, especially a percentage of 20.5% of victimization by online grooming, reveal a disturbing reality in Portugal, so this phenomenon should be given more attention and discussion in our country, including through legislative changes so you can act on it.

"Despite some limitations, this exploratory study proved to be innovative in the Portuguese context, providing results that should be considered relevant indicators for an effective (and as early as possible) action against this phenomenon. The main results to be pointed out refer to the percentage of victimization found in our sample (20.5%), as well as the lack of knowledge of the phenomenon by the majority of the participants (70.2%). Since, in Portugal, online grooming is still unknown for most young people and a phenomenon relatively ignored by the academic community, political power, the media and society in general, it is expected that this study will bring more visibility to a problem that currently affects a significant number of children and young people. Thus, it is hoped with this work to promote knowledge about the problem addressed, alert to its prevalence in our country and stimulate interest in its investigation. Furthermore, since it was possible to verify the existence of situations of victimization by online grooming in Portugal, it is expected to contribute to possible legislative changes, namely by transposing Article 23 of the Lanzarote Convention into Portuguese legislation. It is also suggested that prevention campaigns and awareness-raising actions be carried out on this issue, not only in schools but also using the media, in order to reach as many people as possible" (Casa Branca, C.; Grangeia, H.; Cruz, O., 2016: 260-61, translated by the coder).