Daily roundup: Unemployment, digital footprints and sexual exploitation
Tristan Donovan, Gabriella Jozwiak
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Fewer children in jobless households, a call for internet guidance for parents, and five arrested by police investigating the alleged rape of 15-year-old, all in the news today.
Around 1.6 million under 16s are living in homes where parents are unemployed, according to the Office for National Statistics. The figure accounts for 14 per cent of all children and represents a fall of 159,000 between 2012 and 2013.
Parents need clear guidelines on how to protect children under eight years old from the risks of the internet, according to a report published by EU Kids Online. The report warns that some parents are creating unerasable 'digital footprints' for children who are too young to consent or understand.
Police in Greater Manchester have arrested five men over the alleged sexual exploitation of a teenage girl. The BBC reports that a police raid yesterday followed allegations by a 15-year-old that she was raped by several men between July 2011 and September 2012.
Youth organisations in Surrey are being offered grants towards youth work in the area. Surrey County Council plans to distribute £220,000 to groups supporting young people not on education, employment or training and helping keep young people safe from crime and anti-social behaviour.
The Scottish Government has published a discussion paper on the rehabilitation of offenders. The paper seeks views on how long it should take before convictions become 'spent' for both adult and young offenders.
And finally, a study reports that a belief in conspiracy theories may encourage parents not to vaccinate their children against diseases such as measles. Researcher Dr Karen Douglas said: "It is easy to treat belief in conspiracy theories lightly, but our studies show that wariness about conspiracy theories may be warranted."