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The principal aim of this review is to examine the context of online abuse by providing an overview of the relevant policy, legislation and safety practice within the European Union, focusing on case studies within the UK, Norway, Belgium and Italy to outline different attempts to educate children and young people about Internet safety issues1. An illustrative brief comparison to legislation and policy outside the EU is also provided, particularly for the USA, Australia and New Zealand where progress has been made in this area.

The purpose of the review is to provide background to a scoping exercise on the current knowledge of online grooming and EU online child safety practice. This review will then inform parallel work collecting data from stakeholders on current knowledge, practice and policy on internet grooming for the sexual abuse of children. This is the first stage of an EC Safer Internet Plus Programme project to undertake the first comprehensive study of online grooming, involving the UK, Norway, Belgium and Italy.