Nude photos, videos and digital sexual abuse against teenagers

Sexual content

When we talk about sexual content we are talking about photos, videos, text or sounds.

It can be a photo that show genitalia, videos of sexual act or sexual texts or sound.

Digital sexual abuse

Examples of digital sexual abuse can be if someone:

• Sends you unsolicited sexual photos, videos, or messages.
• Takes sexual pictures or videos of you without permission.
• Shares sexual content of you on websites or with others. For example: a picture, video, audio recording, or message.
• Shares fake sexual content of you.
• Pressures you to send them nude photos or videos of yourself.
• Threatens to share sexual content of you with others.
• Forwards sexual content of other people if it is not known whether the person has given consent.

This is usually called digital sexual abuse because most often digital devices are used, such as the internet and phones. But the same applies to physical photographs or other content that is not digital.

Can teenagers send nude photos of themselves?

It is OK for teenagers aged 15-18 to send sexual content of themselves to others of a similar age and maturity level if everyone consents.

It is always illegal to send an unwanted photo to someone, for example a dick pic.

Children cannot give consent, and it is always illegal for adults (over 18) to make sexual content involving children (under 18) or send them sexual content .

Faked sexual content

• Faked sexual content is content that was created and doesn't show reality.
• It can show a person doing or saying things they have never done.
• It can for example show a nude photo of a person's face on another person's body.
• AI is often used to create faked sexual content but other applications can be used.
• The content can be photos, videos or sounds.

It is just as illegal to share faked sexual content of a person as real sexual content.

Get help

It is always better to tell someone if you have experienced abuse, no matter how long ago it was.

It is good to talk to an adult you trust. You can also get help in the webchat Sjúkt spjall.

If you are worried that a picture of you might be shared or you think it has been shared you can let TakeItDown know and they'll work with the social media companies to take it down.

What helps the police investigation?

Take screenshots or screen recordings of all messages

• This can help the police, especially if the person sending the messages deletes them on their end. Make sure the username, phone number, or other such information is visible in the screenshots.

Write down information

• Information such as where the communication started, where it moved to (for example, from a dating app to Snapchat), and other similar details.

Talk to the police first

• Do not delete messages, pictures, or anything else before the police have made a copy of all helpful data.
• If possible, do not block the person until you have spoken to the police. You can mute notifications and use other settings that prevent you from seeing the messages. If the messages are having a very negative mental impact, it is better to block the person even if you have not spoken to the police.