The National Crime Agency (NCA) reveals child protection officers investigate an average of one case of  a child protection issue linked with “sexting” every day.  They have launched a campaign providing advice to parents and carers if their children become involved in sexting. The NCA campaign aims to help parents deal with the problem of sexting and minimise the risks. NCA said sending nude or explicit images of themselves on social media had become “normal” among teenagers. But it was leaving them vulnerable to exploitation or blackmail. To find out what sexting is and how to help young people stay safe and in control plus what to do if a photo has been shared with others, including online visit:

• ChildLine survey
• Internet Watch Foundation (IWF)
• ParentPort
• Sexting checklist
• NSPCC: Children, young people and sexting – a qualitative study

Sexting is a widely used term referring to making and sending self-taken indecent images or sometimes text, online or via mobiles. There was a 28% increase in calls to ChildLine in 2012/13 that mentioned ‘sexting’ than in 2011/12 – nearly one every day.These images are often sent to a young person’s boyfriend or girlfriend but once these images have been sent the young person loses control of them. These images could end up being seen by family, people at school or college or even a future employer.
What do young people say?
A ChildLine survey of 13-18 year olds showed that young people frequently make and send sexual images, putting themselves at risk:

• 60% of the young people questioned said they had received requests for sexual images or video of themselves, revealing a high level of pressure to participate;
• 40% of respondents said they had created an image or video of themselves, and a quarter of everyone questioned had sent them to someone else;
• Of the young people who had sent sexual images, most sent them to a partner, however a third sent them to someone they had met online but did not know in real life, and 15% sent them to a complete stranger.

It’s important we can talk openly to young people about the issue and highlight the possible consequences.  And if the worst does happen support them to be able to work through the issues and take back some control. For more advice – http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/14_plus/need-advice/selfies-and-sexting/