Experts in Cambridge warn children about sharing explicit images

A new campaign warning children of the dangers of sharing sexually explicit images and videos has been launched, with an appeal for parents and young people to openly discuss these issues.

The Cambridgeshire-based Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) said “the sharing and soliciting of nudes is becoming ‘normalised’ among young people”.

The Think Before You Share campaign aims to encourage young people, parents and teachers to “get over their embarrassment” and “talk about it”.

The IWF worked closely with researchers at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) in Cambridge and Chelmsford who spoke to hundreds of young people about their experiences of growing up in a digital age.

The nationwide campaign is supported by new research from the International Policing and Public Protection Research Institute (IPPPRI) at ARU.

The university said its academics spoke with 307 young people “who shared their experiences of growing up in a digital world, where they talk to their friends, game and do their schoolwork online”.

“Many described receiving unwanted sexual images and some commented that it has become normalised and part of their lives. The apps they use, such as Snapchat and TikTok are also used by perpetrators to talk to children and groom them into sharing sexual images,” they said.

Its work found that “in some cases groups of pupils, mainly boys, are engaging in a ‘football card collection culture’ of nudes of their female peers”.

Prof Samantha Lundrigan, director of IPPPRI, said: “We found that talking about this issue with young people is key, and it needs to happen quickly. We know that the use of smartphones and the internet is here to stay, so it’s about how we make this part of education, conversation and day-to-day awareness.

“We also spoke to parents and teachers who must also make themselves aware of the tools and guidance out there to help them, how to report nude images online, and how offenders are reaching young people in the first place – often via the platforms they use as part of everyday life.

“If we give young people the tools they need to keep themselves safe, we’re doing everything to help them understand the risks involved in sending and receiving nude images.”

Susie Hargreaves OBE, chief executive of the IWF, said: “The amount of child sexual abuse imagery on the internet is ballooning every year, and we are finding criminals running dedicated commercial child abuse sites are harvesting imagery from wherever they can to cater for this horrifying demand.”

She said image sharing could easily get out of control.

“Children who are facing threats online from criminals trying to extort money or imagery from them using the threat of publishing or sharing nudes can take steps to have the imagery removed from the internet, or pre-emptively blocked before they can be uploaded.”

A service called Report Remove, run by the IWF and Childline, enables young people to stop their imagery being shared on the internet and take action against threats of sexual extortion, she added.

The new social media campaign includes videos on TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat, using “cheeky” imagery, including suggestive images of fruits and vegetables, to help deliver the message to young people.

Parents and carers will also be targeted on social media, as well as via radio and podcast ads from comedian Diane Morgan, star of Cunk on Earth, Motherland, and Mandy.