Let’s start with what actually the chat rooms are. According to the definition in one American dictionary this is a virtual space, where internet users can communicate online in real time, throughout keyboard, and lately by headphones and microphone, or web camera.
For people which have never visited places like that, this doesn’t sound very concerning, but in the chat rooms, like in the real life communication with strangers bears certain risks.

As a beginning, you have to be aware, that while chatting with other visitors in these rooms, your child may come across an unscrupulous adult. The virtual Internet space provides high degree of anonymity, thus allowing a grown up man, to represent himself as someone at the same age as your child. That is a trick used by many pedophiles in order to gain the kids trust. Once the contact is established, the predator is trying to warm the child toward him by showing understanding to his problems, and sharing his interests. The pedophiles usually aim at children, which during internet conversation show trend to agree, and are more passive in the communication. This are characteristics of the so called outsiders, which are isolated by the other kids and don’t have many friends. In the real world as well as in the virtual space, this type of youngsters is more vulnerable, because of their desperate need of attention.

After a certain period of time, during which their contacts stay only in the chat room, often they start to communicate through e-mails or SMS, and often even start phoning each other. This helps the predator get more confidence; by showing him that he managed to gain the victim’s trust and make him/her feel comfortable in their “friendship”. The next phase is the child to be prepared for the truth, that after all his new internet friend isn’t at the age he has mentioned in the beginning of their acquaintance. It usually starts with questions like “What do you think about older brothers?” or “How would you like to have an older fiend, which can help you?” By all this the adult is trying to bring forward the benefits of the communication with older people, and is trying to distract the child’s attention form the potential risks it may bear.  If the victim gets scared everything ends here. As a rule this doesn’t concern the pedophiles, because usually they are chatting with several kids at the same time, in order to increase their chance for a real meeting. However, if the marked victim doesn’t show fear of the adult standing on the other side an invitation for date or exchange of addresses follows. When this time comes, to the children is often being explained, that they are not supposed to tell their parents, or friends, because they wouldn’t understand and wouldn’t want the kid to have friends (this happens mostly in the case when the child is vulnerable because of domestic problems or lack of friends, for which the pedophile already knows). Sometimes the predator even explains to the victim how to erase the chat archive and the e-mails. That way, the parents’ chances to control their child’s internet contacts grow smaller, and the opportunity to find out what’s going on is close to zero.

Most exposed to this type of risks are the teenagers. This is due to several factors. On one hand they are more willing to rebel, to look for detachment, and to take risky actions to prove themselves and be independent from their parents.  On the other hand, they have bigger freedom when they go out, and where they go, than the younger children, and it would be easier for them to meet someone, without their parents finding out.

There exists another scenario, in which the pedophile doesn’t want to face the victim in person, but is trying to get personal photographs of the child, sends improper, nasty massages with clearly sexual content, or is trying to involve it in virtual sex

When we talk about the dangers of the chat rooms and about pedophilia in particular, the offenders are mainly men. However, around the world already documented cases exist, where women are the offenders involved in inclining children to prostitution, or sexual abuse of minors. Despite of the criminal’s sex, the effects of the crime are equally unwanted. Because of that, it will be good before letting your child browse the internet, to think what can you do guarantee its safety (see How to Protect section).