Young people’s behaviour online, and the choices they make can expose them to risks. Some examples include sharing of personal and private information, chatting with strangers and sexting/sharing nude selfies.
Gaming
Online gaming, with friends or with wider communities is an area where young people can experience risky behaviour. CEOP’s Thinkuknow have a useful guide for young people to help them be safe online:
Nude Images
There are concerns that some young people take photographs of their breasts and genitals (commonly known as ‘nude selfies’/ ‘nudes’) and share these by mobile phone or social media with their boyfriends/girlfriends. Some young people are also exposing themselves on webcam both to people they know and strangers within chat rooms. It is vital that young people know that when they send such images, they lose control of them and could find that they are shared on. The images can be copied and posted anywhere online without their permission. There is the additional risk that the recipient will use the image in future to blackmail the young person.
Young people also need to know that creating, storing and distributing these images is a crime, if the young person pictured is under 18. This can result in a criminal conviction which will affect their future, including career opportunities.
The message to young people is clear:
- Do not take nude images of yourself
- If you receive a nude image, delete it without saving or sharing it. N.B. If the image is of a young child, or you think the person in the image is in danger, tell an adult.
It is important that young people know that if anyone is making them feel uncomfortable online and asking them to take indecent images of themselves that they can:
- Tell you
- Report the other person to CEOP, particularly if the request comes from someone they don’t know. You can make a CEOP report at CEOP Education.
Young people can get assistance to remove nude images online from the Internet Watch Foundation and Childline at:
The Lucy Faithfull Foundation provides a service for parents who are concerned about protecting their child from online sexual abuse. Here is a link to their Parents Protect website:
The Lucy Faithfull Foundation can also provide services for young people who have been involved in sexually harmful behaviour.
N.B. Agency staff and foster parents must not print, forward, distribute or save any youth produced sexual imagery unless instructed to do so by the police.
For more information, see our Responding to Sexting policy:
