{"id":399971,"date":"2017-07-11T17:51:48","date_gmt":"2017-07-11T17:51:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ghana-mma.com\/2017\/07\/11\/thousands-of-children-sexting-police-say\/"},"modified":"2017-07-11T17:51:48","modified_gmt":"2017-07-11T17:51:48","slug":"thousands-of-children-sexting-police-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/07\/11\/thousands-of-children-sexting-police-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Thousands of children sexting, police say"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Thousands of children, including a boy aged five, have been investigated for sexting, the BBC has learned. Nearly 400 children under the age of 12 have been spoken to by police in the last three years in England and Wales.<\/p>\n

Figures obtained by the BBC show more than 4,000 cases since 2013 where children have taken explicit pictures of themselves and sent them to others. It is illegal to possess, take or distribute sexual images of someone who is under 18, including of yourself.<\/p>\n

The five-year-old, from County Durham, was spoken to by officers of Durham Constabulary last year. He is the youngest person to be investigated for sexting by police forces in England and Wales who responded to a BBC Newcastle request for information. The force\u2019s DCI Steve Thubron said sexting issues were dealt with on a case by case basis, with a focus on safeguarding children.<\/p>\n

He said incidents were recorded in line with national crime recording standards. \u201cWe deal with incidents proportionately and obviously do not criminalise children,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have worked with other agencies to provide advice and guidance to both schoolteachers and young people. \u201cWe would urge any children who are worried to speak with a trusted adult or call 101.\u201d The most common age of those involved in sexting is 13 or 14.<\/p>\n

A 10-year-old boy \u2013 only just at the age of criminal responsibility \u2013 has been cautioned by Northumbria Police for sexting. The boy sent a sexual image of himself to an 11-year-old child using Oovoo \u2013 a free social media video and image sharing app. Greater Manchester Police recorded the highest number of child sexters with 695 cases looked into \u2013 including four seven-year-olds and four eight-year-olds. \u2018Very little privacy\u2019 Even if a child isn\u2019t prosecuted for sending, distributing or possessing an indecent image or video, once it has been sent, it is no longer in the sender\u2019s control.<\/p>\n

If the content is then posted on a public social media page, it could be viewed by friends and family, or potential employers. Many children have spoken of instances where an image has been shared with a girlfriend or boyfriend, only for the image to then be circulated more widely.<\/p>\n

Kerry Smith of Plan International UK, which works for children\u2019s rights, told the BBC\u2019s Victoria Derbyshire programme: \u201cGirls are being pressured \u2013 sexting is a gendered issue \u2013 more girls are being asked to share.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are double standards.<\/p>\n

When they do (share), the girls are shamed, not the boys who are holding the phones or the pictures or asking for them.\u201d She said education was key. \u201cPeople know there\u2019s an issue.<\/p>\n

They want that knowledge shared with their children and we\u2019ve got to make sure that\u2019s what\u2019s happening in our schools,\u201d she said. Natalie Smith educates children about issues including sexting through a theatre group.<\/p>\n

She said young people believe the phone is their personal, locked property, but actually it\u2019s often the parent who is liable for its content because they pay the bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe try to help them understand that very little is private on the internet, and anything they share on their phone, their parents can have access to and would be able to see,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat often is enough to make them think about exactly what they\u2019re doing.\u201d \u2018Significant distress\u2019 The National Police Chiefs\u2019 Council\u2019s lead for child protection, Chief Constable Simon Bailey, said while police took a \u201ccommon sense approach\u201d it was important not to view it as harmless teenage behaviour.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are significant risks involved for children and young people; once an image is sent, control is lost, and it can cause significant distress when it gets into wider hands,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u0642\u0627\u0644\u0628 \u0648\u0631\u062f\u067e\u0631\u0633<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thousands of children, including a boy aged five, have been investigated for sexting, the BBC has learned. Nearly 400 children under the age of 12 have been spoken to by police in the last three years in England and Wales. Figures obtained by the BBC show more than 4,000 cases since 2013 where children have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":399972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-399971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\nThousands of children sexting, police say - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/07\/11\/thousands-of-children-sexting-police-say\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Thousands of children sexting, police say - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Thousands of children, including a boy aged five, have been investigated for sexting, the BBC has learned. 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