香港六合彩中特网

The Bill鈥檚 introduction meant that 鈥榗yberflashing鈥� became听听in January this year as part of the Online Safety Act.

香港六合彩中特网 researchers Professor Jessica Ringrose and Kaitlyn Regehr (then University of Kent) teamed up with the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) and the School of Sexuality Education听to investigate teenager鈥檚 experiences of non-consensual image sharing of a sexual nature.

Their findings have now led to the UK government recognising this practice as cyberflashing, and in turn understanding it is a form of听sexual harassment. Furthermore the Bill is significant for recognising the connection between this practice and other harms, from depression and anxiety among teens to serious acts of sexual violence and abuse.

The research further found that teenage girls are overwhelmingly affected by the impact of unwanted image-sharing.

Professor Ringrose and Dr Regehr鈥檚 research found that the behaviour has become so common among young people aged 12-18 years old that most never report it - 51% of participants said they hadn鈥檛 told anyone, while only 15% reported it on social media platforms, 5% to parents, and 2 % to their school. When asked why they didn't report the incident, around a third said 鈥業 don鈥檛 think reporting works鈥�.

One 15-year-old participant, Kathryn, commented: 鈥渨hen I first started getting d*ck pics I鈥檇 be like disgusted, but then I just got so used to it, and every time a d*ck appears on my screen I鈥檓 like 鈥� great, again. It鈥檚 normal.鈥� The first conviction is a milestone in this area as it sends a message that unsolicited sexual images should not be normalised and that recipients do not have to tolerate it.

The research has raised awareness of the harms associated with cyberflashing, for example using 'nudes鈥� to pressurise recipients into a transactional exchange of content, which 44% of girls and 15% of boys have felt pressured to fulfill, and gaining content for 鈥榬evenge porn鈥�.

The researchers argue that future action needs to go beyond the criminal legislation, and recommend a number of things that schools, parents and carers, tech companies can do to tackle the problem. Their forthcoming book: 鈥楾eens, Sexting & Consent: Understanding and Preventing Image Based Sexual Harassment and Abuse鈥� will be published by Palgrave in September 2024.

Links

• In The Times: 'I鈥檝e been cyberflashed, like all my female friends'
• Read the report: ''
• IOE research informs Online Safety Bill
• Young peoples鈥� rates of reporting online sexual harassment and abuse are 鈥榮hockingly low鈥�
• Tackling image-based sexual harassment and abuse