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Help and Advice Sexting

Taking positive action

Firstly, try not to panic.

A nude or nearly nude image of my child has been shared online. What can we do next?

Firstly, try not to panic. There are steps that can be taken to minimise the effects of the incident.

  1. Be supportive. It will have been a very difficult and embarrassing conversation for them to have had with you, and they need your help and compassion.
  2. Be curious and not furious. Reassure your child that you are here to support them and ask them to explain the facts to you. This will most likely be difficult and embarassing for them to do so try to adopt a non-judgemental approach when asking questions.
  3. Seek help. Schools are well equipped to deal with such incidents and have access to advice from local safeguarding hubs. They also often have working relationships with the police and can offer advice on the reporting process.
  4. Take positve action.To contain the distribution of the content, acting sooner rather than later is the more effective method.

How can I minimise the distribution of a nude or nearly nude image online?

  1. If the image was posted by your child on to a social networking site, delete it immediately.
  2. If it was sent to someone else, contact that person as soon as you can and ask them to delete it, to prevent it from going any further.
  3. If you think that the image has been shared more widely, seek additional support. Your child’s friends may be able to let you know where they have seen the image and who has shared it. Involving school staff may also be necessary in order to help communicate with others who have shared the image. Young people are often not aware of the law regarding sexting, and schools can reinforce this message to their pupils.
  4. To check the other places that the image might be, search online for your child’s name or username. Using inverted commas, and additional search words, such as “Firstname Surname” + Location, can improve accuracy of results.
  5. If the image has been shared on social networking sites by others, report it immediately using the site’s reporting tools . Due to the illegal nature of such images, it will also break a site’s terms and conditions.
  6. If the image has been shared more widely online, your child can report this to Chidline who will support them in getting this taken down and provide additional counselling to help them to more forward.
  7. If you are concerned that your child has been groomed or coerced into sending the content, make a report to CEOP.