Teh One Who Knocks
06-15-2015, 10:52 AM
By Jasper Hamill - The Mirror
http://i.imgur.com/bNHBT05.jpg
Police are investigating one "difficult and harmful" case linked to sexting every day, as the risky practice becomes "normal" for British youngsters.
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), part of the National Crime Agency, has launched a drive to raise awareness of the risks of sharing naked selfies.
Previous research has shown kids as young as seven are now sending sexts, often under the influence of strangers online.
Zoe Hilton, CEOP head of safeguarding, said: “We are talking about cases where sexting has led to a child protection issue.
http://i.imgur.com/OhIYsZG.jpg
“Something that has started out as relatively innocent or normal for the young people involved has unfortunately turned into something that is quite nasty and needs intervention in order to safeguard and protect the child."
She said children became "very vulnerable" when they shared sexual images, because they are often used to blackmail them.
"The images get into the hands of someone who then uses them to exploit the child or seek to harm or disadvantage the child in some way,” she added.
Experts from the University of Edinburgh and the University of Linkoping in Sweden spent two years talking to 51 young people.
http://i.imgur.com/W1Y4uRD.jpg
They found sexting was embedded in youth culture - and kids were not always aware of the risks.
Ethel Quayle, senior lecturer in clinical psychology at the University of Edinburgh, said the group’s findings said: “It is interesting that the majority of young people we interviewed didn’t refer once to ‘sexting’. Instead they saw this as taking selfies or nude selfies.”
A spokeswoman for the NSPCC said kids did not "think about the consequences" of sending people images of their naked body.
“Often it is to a girlfriend or boyfriend, but these images can quickly end up being shared widely in school and online,” she said.
http://i.imgur.com/bNHBT05.jpg
Police are investigating one "difficult and harmful" case linked to sexting every day, as the risky practice becomes "normal" for British youngsters.
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), part of the National Crime Agency, has launched a drive to raise awareness of the risks of sharing naked selfies.
Previous research has shown kids as young as seven are now sending sexts, often under the influence of strangers online.
Zoe Hilton, CEOP head of safeguarding, said: “We are talking about cases where sexting has led to a child protection issue.
http://i.imgur.com/OhIYsZG.jpg
“Something that has started out as relatively innocent or normal for the young people involved has unfortunately turned into something that is quite nasty and needs intervention in order to safeguard and protect the child."
She said children became "very vulnerable" when they shared sexual images, because they are often used to blackmail them.
"The images get into the hands of someone who then uses them to exploit the child or seek to harm or disadvantage the child in some way,” she added.
Experts from the University of Edinburgh and the University of Linkoping in Sweden spent two years talking to 51 young people.
http://i.imgur.com/W1Y4uRD.jpg
They found sexting was embedded in youth culture - and kids were not always aware of the risks.
Ethel Quayle, senior lecturer in clinical psychology at the University of Edinburgh, said the group’s findings said: “It is interesting that the majority of young people we interviewed didn’t refer once to ‘sexting’. Instead they saw this as taking selfies or nude selfies.”
A spokeswoman for the NSPCC said kids did not "think about the consequences" of sending people images of their naked body.
“Often it is to a girlfriend or boyfriend, but these images can quickly end up being shared widely in school and online,” she said.