A grooming offence is now in effect to target individuals who communicate with a child or their parents with the intent of committing child sexual abuse.
The Crimes Amendment (Grooming) Act 2014, which commenced in Victoria on 9 April 2014, introduced the offence of Grooming for sexual conduct with a child under the age of 16 years. This offence targets predatory conduct designed to facilitate later sexual activity with a child.
The Betrayal of Trust report recommended the grooming offence, given the way in which many sex offenders target their victims. Grooming can be conducted in person or online, for example via interaction through social media, web forums and emails.
Many perpetrators of sexual offences against children purposely create relationships with victims, their families or carers in order to create a situation where abuse could occur. For this reason, parents, carers or other family members who have been targeted by perpetrators in order to gain access to a child are also victims.
The Victim’s Charter Act 2006 was amended to expressly provide that a child and a family member of that child are victims of a grooming offence and are entitled to provide a victim impact statement to a court.
Grooming is now a Criminal Offence
What is grooming?
- The offence of grooming concerns predatory conduct undertaken to prepare a child for sexual activity at a later time.
The offence applies where an adult communicates, by words or conduct, with a child under the age of 16 years or with a person who has care, supervision or authority for the child with the intention of facilitating the child’s involvement in sexual conduct, either with the groomer or another adult.
Grooming does not necessarily involve any sexual activity or even discussion of sexual activity – for example, it may only involve establishing a relationship with the child, parent or carer for the purpose of facilitating sexual activity at a later time.
The sexual conduct must constitute an indictable sexual offence. This includes offences such as sexual penetration of a child, indecent assault and indecent act in the presence of a child. It does not include summary offences, such as upskirting and indecent behaviour in public.
- Who can commit the offence?
The offence can be committed by any person aged 18 years or over. It does not apply to communication between people who are both under 18 years of age.
- What age are the children who are protected by the offence?
The offence applies to communication with children under 16 years, but not communication with 16- and 17-year-old children. This distinction between children aged below 16 and those aged 16 or 17 reflects the general age of consent (16 years) recognised by the criminal law in relation to sexual offences. Read Justice and Community Safety article about 'Grooming Offence'.