Whilst it’s illegal for anyone to exchange nude or semi-nude imagery of a child, the legislation is there to protect children from abuse. This means that if a sexting incident involving a young person is reported to the police, they will make a record but may decide not to take any formal action against the young person. We all need to help change the culture when it comes to sexual harassment and sharing intimate images without consent. If someone sends you a nude or sexual image or video online, you can report it in-app or through the service or platform used to send it. If you’re worried your child might have been sending or receiving nude images, or if you want to talk to them about the risks, we’ve got advice to help.

Childnet International (2016) Cyberbullying: understand, prevent and respond: guidance for schools (PDF). UK Safer Internet Centre (2023) Children must understand risk as UK schools say pupils abusing AI to make sexual imagery of other children. In Wales, the Government has also published guidance to support education settings in responding to sharing nudes (Welsh Government, 2021).Raising awareness about sexting and how perpetrators of abuse can use nude images to harm children is important to help keep children safe.

Part 11 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 makes it an offence to possess indecent images of children (whether or not you intend to distribute them). Let them know that it’s OK to say ‘no’ when someone asks for an intimate image or video or to get sexual online, even if it’s someone they think they can trust. Let your kids know that, so they’re not worried you’ll think they’re to blame if they ever need help. Your nominated child protection lead should take the lead on responding to incidents of sexting, working closely with your senior leadership team. The principles of best practice in these guidance documents might also be helpful for schools in other nations and organisations in other sectors.Finding out that your child’s nude has been shared, or someone is threatening to share it, can be very upsetting – but try to stay calm. It's important to talk to your child about the risks of sharing nudes and let them know they can come to you, or an adult they trust, if someone's pressuring them to share an image or video of themselves.