Revenge porn is when someone posts ‘rude’, intimate or sexual images or films of a partner or ex partner online. A person will do this to upset another person. Sometimes people will threaten to post sexual images or films of a partner or ex partner to try and make that person do things for them. This is never OK.
Most people now have a mobile phone, tablet, notebook or laptop that has a camera on it which makes taking photos easy. It might seem fun to let your partner take a photo of you where you are not wearing much or that is sexual. You might even take one and send it to them. As soon as the photo has been taken and you share it, you have lost any control over who sees that picture. You may have wanted to do it at the time, or you may have been pressured into doing it, but either way what happens afterwards can get out of control.
Being forced or pressured into having indecent photos taken of you is not OK.
It is illegal for anyone to take, keep, copy, ask someone to take or send photographs containing indecent images of anyone under the age of 18 - even if you have taken it yourself.
If you have taken a sexual image of yourself and it’s now online, check out So You Got Naked Online by the South West Grid for Learning for information and advice. There is also a section on the Childline website that tells you how you can ask social media sites to remove photos from their platforms.
The police can help young people who are being approached online about sex or are suffering sexual abuse. If someone is making you feel uncomfortable about sex you should talk to someone you trust, or submit a report to CEOP.
