Highland Conference To Focus On Online Safety Of Children and Young People

On Tuesday 17 June, the Highland Child Protection Committee will be hosting their annual conference at Eden Court Theatre in Inverness.  The event will bring together over 150 practitioners from across Highland to consider emerging issues in child protection.

The day will pay a particular focus to the online safety of children and young people and prevention of child sexual abuse online.

The keynote speech will be delivered by Chris Hughes, Hotline Director from the Internet Watch Foundation, an international organisation who aim to eliminate child sexual abuse images from the internet. Chris said: “I am delighted to be visiting the Highlands and meeting with everyone. Online child sexual abuse and exploitation knows no boundaries and can have significant impact on children, young people and their families. It is vital that services know how to recognise and respond to any emerging risks effectively.”

The event will also consider other emerging issues and approaches to child protection including child exploitation, neglect, misogyny, child sexual abuse, early protective messaging and ICON, a programme to support parents/carers and prevent head trauma in babies.

Mhairi Grant, Independent Chair of the Child Protection Committee said: “We are pleased to be hosting such an important event to update practitioners about the work being undertaken by partners and provide opportunities for networking and relationship building. It is crucial that priorities for protecting children in Highland are shared by all agencies and services.”

Chair of the Highland Council’s Health, Social Care and Wellbeing Committee and a member of the CPC, Councillor David Fraser added: “ We all can play a part to keep children safe. The discussions regarding on-line safety, especially the key insights from Chris of young people’s experiences, will help us all in supporting our vulnerable young people and their journey into adulthood. I wish everyone taking part a very successful conference.”

Local services will be showcasing a range of poster presentations highlighting good practice across Highland.