This is done on a number of different forums including Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat to name a few, It normally takes place between young people in a relationship but there has been incidents where images have been sent to complete strangers.
There are many dangers associated with this including: bullying or harassment, lack of control of the images, images becoming public, the effect this might have on the person's digital footprint and the Legal implications of taking, sharing, receiving or posting inappropriate images of anyone under the age of 18.
Our pupils receive advice regarding this issue with dedicated lessons during Personal and Social Education classes. These lessons offer advice and guidance from CEOP, the Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre, who produce very good educational packages, these inputs are jointly presented by the Campus Police Officers from Police Scotland and the PSE teaching staff.
Thinkuknow parents and carers website...
This is a fairly new website for parents and carers. It is a source of information, tips and advice for parents and carers specifically focussed on online child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation.
It aims to support all parents and carers, from those who need advice on how to protect their children, to those who are concerned about something that is happening right now.
The site also provides advice for parents of children who have suffered sexual abuse.
You can find this by visiting the Thinkuknow (opens new window) website and following the link to the parent/carer section.
ParentInfo
ParentInfo is a free service for schools which provides expert, up-to-date content for parents and carers.
The content is written by leading authorities on a wide range of topics including online safety, sex and relationships, health and wellbeing and family life. Each article aims to help parents develop their children's resilience against the risks they may face online or off. If you wish to register, then you should visit the Parent Info Website (opens new window).
We would like to offer some advice to parents and carers on how to deal with some of these issues and we have attached advice on issues such as how to set the privacy settings on Facebook, how to block a post or profile and how to report an issue directly to sites such as Youtube.
