Australian parents susceptible to grooming' by child abusers: report

SYDNEY, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- A report released on Tuesday warns that parents are being targeted by sexual predators, who want to abuse their children.

The Griffith University study suggests that those who commit these crimes often target the parents of the children by establishing friendships, and then gain access to their children.

Grooming is a difficult behaviour to assess, as certain behaviours that could be considered to be suspicious, could indeed stem from a genuine interest in the child, as opposed to one borne in nefarious intent.

The lead author of the report, Professor Patrick O'Leary of Griffith University told Xinhua, one of the key determining factors in identifying grooming, is that of secrecy.

"The challenge is that some grooming behaviors are normal behaviours that are made to look like they are good behaviours, and that is the exact tactic of them, to make them seem like they are well intentioned," O'Leary said.

"The thing that is an identifiable difference, is when there are elements of secrecy or a lack of transparency in the interactions."

O'Leary stressed that in situations where predators made an effort to conceal their interactions with a child, that would be a clear and definitive "warning sign" of suspect behaviour.

Educating children about grooming should be a priority, O'Leary says, with further efforts needing to be made to empower children, and their parents, to act when potential grooming situations are identified.

"Clearly raising the issue doesn't mean that it is occurring, but at least we then have a readiness to know that we can speak up if there is a concern." O'Leary said.

The submission also had concerns that parents are often seen as being unaware or not doing enough to protect their children in grooming cases.

"(This is) based on the idea that attentive parents will instinctively detect grooming and know their child is in danger," the report said.

The report was conducted for the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse, currently underway in Sydney.