West Yorkshire Police Back 'Revenge Porn' Campaign
School children in Leeds are being warned to think before sending explicit photos, as so-called 'revenge porn' becomes a criminal offence.
It's where images of someone are shared without their permission - and a campaign is raising awareness that it now carries a prison sentence of up to two years.
Clare Askew is head of learning services at ICT4C, which works with local schools on internet safety.
She says she's seen a big rise in 'sexting' in schools:
“People that trust each other are then sharing images. So what we try and get across is the message that to a certain extent what they’re doing is actually sharing indecent images, but also that once they’ve shared that image, they no longer have control over it.
“Somebody that they trust at that point isn’t necessarily going to be the case in future.
“They’ll do something not realising the harm that it’s perhaps going to cause. They often do it because they think it’s funny. But they also don’t think the law applies to them.
“They think ‘well it’s just a fun thing, we might get told off if we get found out’ – so we try and get them to understand that sometimes the law does apply to them.”
West Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson is backing the national ‘Be Aware B4 You Share’ Campaign.
It was launched by the Ministry of Justice to raise awareness that, under new legislation, the sharing of private sexually-related material with intent to cause distress will soon be easier to prosecute. Those found guilty can be sentenced for up to two years in prison and fined.
The offence applies both online and offline and to images which are shared electronically or in a more traditional way.
It also aims to support victims by directing them to a new helpline where they can receive information on the legal help available.
Clare works to try to increase understanding among young people and prevent the problem before it happens.
“OFSTED are now asking questions,” she says.
“So now when they come in to do inspections, they will be asking the pupils if they feel safe, have they had education about these kinds of issues... and that actually has helped schools take this really seriously and put it into the curriculum.
“It’s a difficult area to work with and it’s very new to many of the teachers.”
Mark Burns-Williamson said: “The effects of this crime on both the victim and the perpetrator can be massively wide reaching and by raising awareness, I hope that I can make potential offenders stop and think twice about the consequences of their actions.
“I previously wrote to Secretary of State, Chris Grayling to highlight my concerns over cyber-crime, specifically revenge porn and online ‘trolling’.”