Wellbeing Report
Online Image Based Abuse
What is 'sending nudes', 'sexting', ‘sextortion’ and 'image-based abuse'?
There was an interesting and informative article in ‘The Good Weekend’ last weekend about the disturbing increase in the crime of ‘sextortion’ which I think every parent of teens should read. You will find a link to the article here:
When young people talk about ‘sending nudes’, it usually means sharing intimate photos or videos of themselves with someone else using an online message or chat function, or a phone text service. ‘Sexting’ means sending a sexual message or text, with or without a photo or video. Sending nudes and sexting are becoming common among young people and adults. When someone shares (or threatens to share) the intimate image or video without the consent of the person shown in it this is ‘image-based abuse’. The content can then be shared with others via text or online.
Once an image has been shared, the person can be blackmailed into sending money to prevent the image being spread – ‘sextortion’. Often, they are coerced into sharing more images, to prevent the images from being shared.
This can be very traumatic for the person, so it’s important that young people who find themselves in this situation feel comfortable about reaching out for support, so they can get the images taken down and find the help they need.
Most of this abuse is happening behind the bedroom door.
Teen victims feel trapped – they are unable to tell their parents because of their initial bad decision, and so the vast majority of cases go unreported. Susan McLean from Cybersafety Solutions warns that less than a quarter of targeted minors alert authorities.
“It is not a matter of if, it’s when your children will be contacted by a paedophile online”.
This is why she believes that any digital devices with cameras should not be allowed in the bedroom or bathroom.
Resources are Available to Support You
Be proactive and have the discussion before it is too late.
The ESAFETY website has some fantastic resources to assist parents to understand the types of abuse that is occurring online and provide resources to help you have proactive, preventative conversations with your children, as well as offer advice on where to seek help and support should your child fall victim to such abuse.
It covers:
- What is ‘sending nudes’, ‘sexting’ and ‘image-based abuse’?
- How to talk with your child about sending nudes
- How image-based abuse happens, including ‘revenge porn’, ‘sextortion’ and sexual grooming
- How image-based abuse can affect your child
- How to support your child through image-based abuse
- What to do if your child is sent an unwanted nude
- Videos
How to talk with your child about sending nudes
Having an age-appropriate talk with your child about the types of image-based abuse can help them:
- understand the risks
- watch out for the signs
- know how to get help if it happens to them or someone they know.
It can be a difficult conversation to have, however it is too important to ignore.
More resources can also be found on our SchoolTV website:
https://nazareth.vic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-sextortion
If you have any concerns, please contact your Pastoral Teacher, Head of House or a member of the Wellbeing Team.
Ms Jackie Kol
Director of Wellbeing