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Sexting means sharing sexually explicit messages, photos or videos. Around 17% of young people aged 15 and over have shared a nude or sexual photo of themselves, according the Cybersurvey by YouthWorks called Teens, Sexting and Risks. (If you want to understand more about the issue, the report is a useful primer.)
The NSPCC advises: âIt’s a criminal offence to create or share explicit images of a child, even if the person doing it is a child. If sexting is reported to the police, they will make a record but may decide not take any formal action against a young person.â
All schools should have a policy on dealing with incidents of sharing indecent images on mobile devices. If your child has been targeted in this way, the school and the police should be your first port of call.
If the image has been shared on social media, you should report the image, asking for its removal (see links below for information on how to do this).
Fumble is a website aimed at young people and it has some great advice and information on understanding and dealing with sexting
Child Law Advice: charity offering useful advice on the law around Sexting, what schools can do and tips for parents
Internet Matters:
Advice if people are posting pictures of you or your child online without permission
Advice if your child has been caught sexting
CEOP: Child Exploitation and Online Protection from the National Crime Agency
Snapchat: How to report abuse on the web. Snapchat also has an in-app reporting tool
Facebook: How to report a photo or video that violates the privacy of you or your child
Google:
How to remove non-consensual explicit or intimate personal images from Google
How to remove involuntary fake pornography from Google
⭐️ See our other Help & Advice pages: Sex and relationships, Social media & devices and Pornography.
⭐️ Join our Raising Teens Facebook group for support from parents, teens and experts