This study aims to contribute to our knowledge about the under researched area ofsexual grooming, first of all, by reviewing the available literature to establish abaseline of understanding and secondly by considering three different perspectives,which expanded our understanding further. In depth interviews, lasting between onehour and a total time of approximately four hours, were conducted with five adultsurvivors of child sexual abuse, six child sex offenders and six police officers withchild protection experience. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used toanalyse the interview data, which identified four main themes: vulnerability,offenders’ self grooming, entrapment and grooming shadow. These themeshighlighted an ecological view, which acknowledged the multiple factors influencingan individual’s experience of childhood sexual abuse, and recognised the dynamicnature of sexual grooming, including its apparent link between childhood experienceof this phenomenon and adulthood. Attribution and perceived power were the mostsignificant influences within the sexual grooming process. The analysis was used todevelop a new definition and two models of sexual grooming, which capture thecomplexity of this phenomenon. These models provide a framework within which tounderstand sexual grooming and furthermore to communicate this understanding to anon-academic audience. The Grooming ‘Cycle’ is of particular value with regard toraising public awareness, which is an important aspect as the research has revealedthat child protection can only be effective if everybody takes responsibility for it.
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