EU initiative klicksafe and advice platform JUUUPORT.de launch joint campaignPROTECT YOURSELF! Against sexualized violence on the net - making children and young people strong against cybergrooming

Social media, messenger, games - when children and young people use the Internet, they quickly come into contact with people they don't really know. This is where cybergrooming, i.e. the targeting of minors on the Internet to initiate sexual contact, is becoming increasingly common. Many of these cybergrooming cases go undetected and unreported. Especially in the pandemic, the numbers have increased significantly: the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) records an increase of 17.6% in 2020 compared to the previous year. In the coming weeks, klicksafe and JUUUPORT.de will provide comprehensive information and educational materials as part of the #WehrDICH #GegenCybergrooming campaign.

Ludwigshafen, 15.09.2022 - The EU initiative klicksafe is taking a strong stand against cybergrooming and today launches the campaign "WEHR DICH! Against sexualized violence online" in cooperation with the online counseling platform JUUUPORT.de. The nationwide campaign offers extensive materials that klicksafe has developed for young people together with JUUUPORT.de and with the support of the Independent Commissioner on Child Sexual Abuse (UBSKM).

"Sexualized violence online is a growing problem," emphasizes Dr. Marc Jan Eumann, Director of the Media Authority Rhineland-Palatinate and coordinator of the EU initiative klicksafe at the launch of the campaign. "That's why it's important that klicksafe educates and provides the necessary orientation. With the concrete assistance we strengthen young people and guardians in dealing with cybergrooming."

The aim of the campaign is to make young people strong enough to recognize sexualized violence online in good time and, above all, to defend themselves against it. In the new flyer and the accompanying videos with the JUUUPORT scouts Jasmin and Stephan, which can be called up directly via QR codes in the flyer, young people receive important tips and information. Info posters and webcam stickers complete the new set of materials from klicksafe.

According to a representative survey conducted in 2021 by the Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia, 24%, every fourth child or adolescent between the ages of 8 and 18, have already come into contact with adults who wanted to meet in real life. One in six children or adolescents (16%) state that they have been promised consideration for intimate recordings online by an adult contact.

"When adolescents are affected by sexualized violence, it is often difficult for them to seek help because these experiences are filled with fear and shame. Many perpetrators blackmail their victims and give them the feeling that they are to blame. In order for children and young people to be safe online, prevention is needed at an early stage. For example, promoting their media skills and at the same time continuously strengthening their life management skills," says Birgit Kimmel, head of the EU initiative klicksafe.

On JUUUPORT.de, Stephan Bronner advises other young people on problems online and says: "In our online counseling, we regularly receive inquiries from young people who report sexual harassment on the Internet. We then advise them, for example, to block the intrusive contacts and check their privacy settings." Stephan Bronner and scout colleague Jasmin Wittmann provide these and other tips in the videos for the joint klicksafe and JUUUPORT campaign.

On Sept. 15, klicksafe and JUUUPORT launch a new campaign on cybergrooming with the hashtags #WehrDICH #GegenCybergrooming in social media. The focus is on empowering children and young people so that they can protect themselves from and defend themselves against targeted contact initiation online. The aim of the campaign "Wehr Dich! Against Sexualized Violence on the Net" campaign is to identify cybergrooming and the strategies of perpetrators in good time and to raise awareness of the need for caution when dealing with online contacts from others. When children and young people are online in social media, they need to know how to protect their own profiles and how to report and block contacts. It is also important that they know contact points and are equipped to seek help if they are affected by sexualized violence online.

In addition to the campaign "Wehr Dich! Against sexualized violence online", the klicksafe parents' campaign #EveryFourthChild on the topic of cybergrooming will run from September 21, 2022.

"Your child shares photos with friends. Or strangers?" With such provocative questions, klicksafe's social media campaign also addresses those parents who have not yet dealt intensively with the dangers of cybergrooming and supports them in empowering their offspring against cybergrooming.

In addition to videos that sensitize parents to sexual assault online, a new brochure and a family checklist provide practical help on the topic.

Materials and press kit

All information and materials on the campaign "WEHR DICH! Against Sexualized Violence" campaign by klicksafe and JUUUPORT is available on the landing page at klicksafe.de/wehr-dich and in the digital press kit at www.klicksafe.de/wehr-dich-pressekit.

  • Flyer "WEHR DICH! Against sexualized violence online. Tips for young people on cybergrooming".
  • Video series "WEHR DICH! Against sexualized violence on the net" with 5 videos: "Warning signals in the chat", "Protect your profile", "Check contact", "Break off contact" and "Set limits"
  • Poster "WEHR DICH! Against sexualized violence on the net - warning signals in the chat".
  • Webcam sticker
  • Statement by Deborah Woldemichael, head of the EU initiative klicksafe on cybergrooming and the campaign (audio, video)
  • Key visuals for the campaign
  • Explainer video "What to do in case of cybergrooming?" by JUUUPORT.de

Social media

facebook.com/klicksafe
twitter.com/klicksafe
instagram.com/klicksafe
youtube.com/user/klicksafegermany

hashtags #DefendYou #AgainstCybergrooming

Landing page

klicksafe.com/wehr-dich

About klicksafe

klicksafe aims to promote people's online competence and to support them in their competent and critical use of the Internet with a wide range of offers. The EU initiative is politically and economically independent and is implemented in Germany by the media institutions in Rhineland-Palatinate (coordinator) and in North Rhine-Westphalia. On the website www.klicksafe.de, users* can find a wide range of up-to-date information, practical tips and teaching materials on digital services and topics. The target groups are teachers, educators, parents, children, young people and multipliers. klicksafe is the national German awareness center and is funded by the Digital Europe Program (DIGITAL) of the European Union. Since 2008, klicksafe has also coordinated the Safer Internet Centre DE, which includes the Internet hotlines of eco, FSM and jugendschutz.net as well as the helpline Nummer gegen Kummer.

About JUUUPORT.de

JUUUPORT.de is a nationwide online counseling and education platform for teenagers and young adults who have problems online. Volunteer young people from all over Germany, the JUUUPORT scouts, advise their peers on online problems such as cyberbullying, cybergrooming, stress in social media, online rip-offs and data theft, and educate students on these topics in online seminars. The project was initiated by the Lower Saxony State Media Authority (NLM). It is supported by JUUUPORT e.V., to which five other state media authorities belong in addition to the NLM.

Press contact:
Lennart Hesse-Sörnsen
JUUUPORT e.V.
+49 151 28729757
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