Spotlight on Safeguarding

With the rise of camera phones and other devices in the last few years, taking photos of themselves and their friends is common place amongst young people. These photos are often shared online. In recent years, there has also been an increase in young people asking others to share nudes of themselves. This is commonly known as sexting.

There are reasons as to why a young person might agree to sending an image of themselves in this way:

• they may believe they are in a consensual romantic relationship
• they may be pressured, tricked or coerced into sharing an image
• they may be exploited or groomed into sending the images

The law on image sharing: In order to protect children, any indecent image of a child (someone under18) is known as Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), even if the image was created by the child themselves(self-generated CSAM). The law states that it is illegal to create or share CSAM. Creating images also includes AI or photoshopped images. The law also includes possession of an image and re-sharing images. Parents should not have images sent to their device, even if the intent is to report the image. Images should be reported to the Police immediately. It is important to note that this law is to protect children, not criminalise those who send images of themselves.

Consent is the explicit, informed and voluntary agreement to engage in a particular activity, often referring to sexual interactions, but it also applies to other areas such as relationships, sharing personal boundaries and decision making. For children, this means ensuring that they have the capacity to give consent without feeling pressured, coerced or manipulated.

Why is it important for young people to understand consent?

• Teaching consent encourages children to respect their own and others’ physical and emotional boundaries.
• Consent fosters open communication, mutual respect and equality in relationships.
• Educating teenagers about consent helps prevent situations of sexual assault, harassment and coercion.
• Understanding consent gives teenagers the tools to make informed choices about their body and relationships.
• Consent creates a culture of respect which helps to reduce harmful behaviours like victim-blaming.

The Four C’s of consent help children to know if consent has been or is still being given:

• Clear: Yes means yes. If it isn’t a yes, it’s a no.
• Continuous: Keeping check that it is still a yes; yes now doesn’t mean yes later.
• Coercion-free: It isn’t yes if pressure has been put on someone to do something.
• Conscious: The person giving consent must be fully capable of giving consent.

This summer, Telegram made the headlines when its owner was arrested. Although it may not be the most popular messaging app among young people, it is considered one of the fastest-growing platforms. While there are many discussions surrounding the risks associated with using Telegram, here are some key points to keep in mind.

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