Notes

Sexting: Tips For Professionals

It is unlawful to share or create explicit images of children, even if it is done by a child.



Each country has its own laws regarding the sharing of images that are sexually explicit. There is also guidance for how professionals respond to sexting incidents.



Part 11 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 makes the possession of images that are sexually explicit or children a crime (regardless of whether you plan to disseminate them).



Legislation in the UK does not define the term "indecent" However, information about this is included in the guidance for prosecution (see below).



Causing distress



Sometimes young people who have been involved in sexting have been manipulated or blackmailed - the person who received their image may threaten to share it further in the event that the child does not send them more. Children may also be concerned that when their relationship ends the person they shared their image with could use it in order to get their revenge. There is legislation in the UK to safeguard the young from this.



Across the UK in the UK, section 33 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 makes it a crime to publish private sexual photos or films with the intention to cause distress.



Part 1 of the Abusive Behaviour (Scotland), Act 2016 makes it illegal to disclose in public, or to threaten with the public, intimate photos or videos of another person to cause distress.



Sexual communication



In all UK nations, part 67 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 makes it a crime to engage in sexual contact with children (under 16). This includes sexually explicit or for the purpose of obtaining sexual satisfaction (e.g, grooming to avoid abuse).



Investigating indecent images



The Sexual Offences Act 2003 provides that police must investigate sexually explicit images of children to determine if a sexual offense was committed. This applies to all parts of the UK.



Key guidance



There is guidance for professionals in various areas on how to respond to sexting incidents. These are sexual images or videos that are made, shared or kept in the possession by minors younger than 18 years old. It does not cover sexual content that does not contain imagery or the sharing of sexual images by adults. Sexting.ink This is why the guidance uses the term "youth-produced sexual imagery" to clarify.



The following are the most frequent themes that are found in the guideline:



- children and young people should not be unnecessarily criminalised for sharing sexual images created by youth agencies should collaborate to share information and advice during investigations and help educate children on the dangers of sexting.


Schools



In England The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS)and UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCIS), have produced guidance for educators on children and teens sharing nudes and semi-nudes. The guidance includes:



- information for all staff and volunteers on what to do if they discover a child has been involved in sexting


- tips to nominated child protection leaders and senior leadership teams on how to respond to an incident of sexting


(DCMS and UKCIS 2020).



The Welsh Government has published guidance to assist education settings in responding with sharing nudes (Welsh Government 2021).



The principles of best practice in these guidance documents might be useful for schools in other countries and organisations from other sectors.



Police



The Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) has published a guide to help professionals and public address incidents of sexting (PDF) (PSNI 2018).



Outcome 21



All incidents of youth produced sexual images must be documented as an offence. The Home Office launched outcome 21 in January 2016. This permits police officers in England or Wales to document that a crime took place however it is not in the public interest for formal criminal justice action to be taken. Although this code is not likely to be revealed in the near future but it can be used in future screening checks. A senior and/or experienced officer will decide on outcome 21.



Outcome 21 could be a suitable solution for situations in which:



- a young person's sexting was not abusive or persistent


There is no evidence of grooming, exploitation motive for profit or malicious motive (College of Policing, 2016).


Prosecutors



The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), in England and Wales offers guidance on images that are sexually explicit or prohibited of children (CPS 2020). The CPS has also released Guidelines on prosecuting cases involving messages sent through social media (CPS, 2018).



The guidelines for communications made via social media states that it would not normally be in the public's best interest to prosecute sexual images are shared consensually between children of the same age; however prosecution may be appropriate in other situations such as when harassment, bullying, or child sexual exploitation is involved.



The Sentencing Council provides guidance on offence categories for the possession inappropriate photos of children (Sentencing Council 2014).



The Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service (PPS) which contains information on images of indecent content and children in its information about sexual crimes (PPS 2021)



In Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has issued guidance on cases involving communications sent via social media (PDF) (COPFS, 2014). This document defines the boundaries between non-criminal and criminal communications via social media.



This policy states that children accused of committing crimes will not be investigated unless there are grave circumstances, like the threat to violence.



Guidance for young people



The Home Office has published guidance to help young people know the law regarding sharing or sharing images of children and young people (Home Office 2019). The guidance explains the law surrounding sexting in England and Wales and gives definitions of some most commonly used terms, and explains to youngsters what to do if they stumble upon indecent images of children on the internet.


Website: https://sexting.ink/