Education Secretary Damian Hinds has warned young people that the safest way to protect themselves from the risks of sexting is not to share “intimate pictures” with anyone – even those you might trust or be in a relationship with.
Talking about new online safety guidance issued to schools today, Hinds told Sky News: “We’re covering things like the sharing of intimate pictures. And making sure that kids know that actually if you let a picture of yourself naked or semi-naked go, even to somebody you may think loves you and it’s safe, you can’t predict what’s going to happen to that picture afterwards. The safest way to be is not to be sharing intimate pictures.”
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The NSPCC says children sext for a variety of reasons including: joining in because they think all their peers are doing it, boosting their self-esteem, to get attention and because they might find it hard to say no if someone asks.
This behaviour isn’t always motivated by sexual feelings and, similar to other activities encouraged by peer pressure – underage drinking, drugs, smoking, for example – some children take part even when they know they shouldn’t.
A 2018 study by the University of Bedfordshire found that current tactics used by UK schools to stop “sexting” among children were largely ineffective.
The Department for Education has just published fresh guidance about the new sex education curriculum. Under legislation passed in 2017, age-appropriate relationship education is to become compulsory in all primary schools – while sex and relationship education will be compulsory in secondaries.
Children should be taught about the dangers of ‘sexting’ and pornography and teachers should explain which online activities are illegal, the document suggested.
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In the UK creating, sharing, downloading or storing explicit images of a child is illegal, even if the person doing it is a child. However, as of January 2016 in England and Wales, if a young person is found creating or sharing images, the police can choose to record that a crime has been committed but that taking formal action isn’t in the public interest.
Crimes recorded in this way are unlikely to appear on future records or checks – unless the young person has been involved in other activities that indicate that they’re a risk.
Suzie Hayman, trustee of the charity Family Lives, previously shared some tips for parents concerned about their children sending or receiving sexts.
