Annabel Turner is an established lawyer, specialising in child protection issues, especially online. She is joining the Cyber Marathon to talk about children and their safety online, her work with Cybersafe Scotland and other organisations, and the challenges for parents, authorities and tech providers to keep our children safe.
She practised as a barrister for 10 years specialising in cases involving child protection, non-accidental injury to children and child sexual abuse.
In 2016 she worked with the International Justice Mission on their Not on my Screen campaign and that changed the course of her life. Initially, she was working to protect children in the Philippines, abuse of whom was being live-streamed back to the UK. Then she led the research into case law and legislation in Scotland, working with a wide range of stakeholders (including the Scottish Government and Police Scotland ????????????????????????????), while in parallel developing a full understanding of the opportunities and challenges in the landscape nationally, in relation to child trafficking, online child sexual exploitation and abuse.
With IJM’s support, she founded Cybersafe Scotland which partnered with local councils to begin the process of understanding the digital landscape through the eyes of the children who are most at risk of exploitation and abuse—simultaneously developing approaches to support their digital literacy wherever they lack that support.
She became Chair of the Child Exploitation Group for the Child Protection Partnership in 2018. This is a multi-agency partnership between the Police, Health, Education, CSW and Third Sector. She has led the development of data across the partnership and guidance around CSE, Child Trafficking and Child Criminal Exploitation.