CHILDLINE: Child sexual extortion was the reason behind more than 900 Childline contacts in 2023-24
Young people around the world are better connected today than at any point in history, but with the great benefits brought by the internet come grave concerns and dangers.
Hundreds of counselling sessions were delivered by Childline last year to children and young people who had been blackmailed or threatened into sharing sexual images online.
Child sexual extortion – or sextortion – was the reason behind more than 900 Childline contacts in 2023/24.
Counsellors heard from young people who had experienced financial blackmail over images of themselves and others who were pressured into sending more nude or semi-nude pictures to prevent images being shared.
Many young people told our counsellors that they were worried about the response they might get from their parents, peers, teachers or tech companies if they reported experiencing online harm.
Some young people were worried about upsetting others, being judged or even punished if they spoke up about experiencing abuse online.
The impact that online abuse crimes have on children and young people can include feelings of guilt, shame, depression, confusion, anxiety and fear.
These feelings are hard enough to bear but made even worse if they are experienced alone so it’s important children and young people know they can speak to a parent, carer, teacher or Childline if they’re ever worried.
For adults, it’s so important to be supportive if a young person discloses to you that they’ve experienced anything like this online. Remind them that abuse is never their fault and try to remain calm and non-judgemental – make your priority helping them cope with what has happened.
Any young person worried about an image of themselves which appears online can use the Report Remove tool – created by Childline and the Internet Watch Foundation. It enables young people to self-report sexual images of themselves, which they think may have been shared online. The IWF will then work to remove this content from the internet.
Childline will always be here to support children who have experienced or are worried about online abuse.
Both the Childline and NSPCC websites have lots of resources and information to help children, young people, parents and carers learn more about online safety, including how to report abuse, sextortion and how to use Report Remove.