Revenge pornography has received much coverage this week with the publication of statistics on prosecutions since the new ‘Revenge Porn’ legislation came into effect in April 2015. The crime often involves an ex-partner uploading sexual images of the victim to cause the victim humiliation or embarrassment. In the few months from the law coming into effect up until December 2015 there were 1,160 incidents of revenge pornography reported to the police.
The element of this story that schools need to be particularly aware of is the fact that some 30% of incidents involved young people under the age of 19, with three of the victims being just eleven years of age. The rising extent of sexting among young people as an issue being faced within schools and society is of course opening children up to greater risk of falling victim to this crime.
It is also important for schools and parents to not merely think of their children and students as potential victims in this, but it is also essential that children are made to understand the risk of becoming a perpetrator. If they share indecent images of somebody else then they may face legal consequences as a result of the revenge porn legislation.