Child Focus, a Belgian non-profit organization, has been working for 25 years to protect the wellbeing of children, especially those who are missing, sexually exploited, or at risk. It does so via prevention and investigation of missing children, abducted children, runaway children, and sexually abused and exploited children, along with psychological and legal support to the victims. They also follow their cases to ensure they are treated with due care by the persons in charge. One of the key prevention areas it focuses on is online safety. The organization's efforts to raise awareness and educate both children and parents about the dangers of online grooming align with their mission of promoting mental health and online safety.

Grooming (when an adult approaches a child for sexual content) has skyrocketed during the lockdowns. And reports of online grooming have continued to rise at Child Focus, the Belgian Center for Missing and Sexually Exploited Children. Last year alone they handled 43 individual grooming cases. Unfortunately, that’s just the tip of the iceberg, since a lot of children don’t even dare to file a report. Online grooming can lead to psychological harm, sexual abuse, and even abduction. Groomers often want to exploit children for the purpose of creating and distributing child sexual abuse material. Child Focus decided it’s time to raise awareness and educate kids from 8 to 14 years old about this serious matter.

Today, the playground isn't just physical anymore. It’s also digital. Adults with bad intentions are finding their way into this world as well. Most kids aren't aware of the manipulative techniques of these online groomers - adults who approach children for sexual contact. That's why Child Focus created OK Groomer: a virtual playground on Roblox. Through a series of mini-games, kids learn how to outplay online predators. And with each lesson learned, players earn coins that they exchange for groomer repelling skins: the ultimate proof meant to keep online predators away.

Child Focus decided to tackle the problem where it occurred. Online groomers show up at the places where they think they will have the most success with their grooming attempts. Social media is an environment that is known to attract groomers, but online multiplayer games that feature the ability to chat between players can be equally dangerous. Parents don’t always know how games work and what goes on in these virtual worlds, leaving children even more vulnerable to adults with bad intentions.

We created an engaging and visually stimulating experience for children by utilizing a playful color palette and a custom-designed world. From the landscape and 3D objects to the in-game sounds, we crafted each element from scratch to create a cohesive and immersive experience. The design of the grooming bosses is a metaphor for real-life groomers: while they may seem sympathetic at first glance, there is always something off about them.

OK Groomer successfully educated children about the dangers of grooming through an interactive experience on the Roblox platform, while a significant portion of the campaign targeted parents to encourage discussion of the issue. The game is now being implemented as an educational tool in classrooms across Belgium. The game was launched via a press conference on Twitch, and we utilized social media and influencers to promote it, garnering even more PR attention.

OK Groomer gained the attention of all major news outlets in Belgium, with coverage on national radio, television, major newspapers and websites and both national and international blogs. It was featured in the most popular mainstream late-night show. As a result, it became a much talked about topic on social media. But the campaign's impact extended far beyond its 14 million impressions (more than Belgium’s 11 million inhabitants) and €150.000 in earned media. It also became an educative tool in schools, teaching thousands of children about online predators.