Social media, teens and nudes

Teens falling victim to sharing the most intimate details of their lives on social media may become targets of sexual crime syndicates and child pornography rings.

This is according to Lieutenant Colonel Cecile Veldman of the Benoni Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS).

Growing up in a world that is always connected and social media influencers constantly calling for ‘likes’ and ‘shares,’, many youths may be caught up in the craze to flood their feeds with images and all access information about their daily lives.

As likes on posts increase some may be tempted to snap more risqué pictures of themselves to share with friends and followers.

Veldman cautions that these are in contravention of the Films and Publications Act and falls within the category of production and distribution of child pornography.

“Seductive and nude pictures of underage social media users are on the increase worldwide and unfortunately kids do not realise what a dangerous game they are playing,” said Veldman.

“Not only can these images be used to tease, victimise and shame the poster within their peer group, but they may be sourced and used on the dark web on child pornography sites.

“Taking pictures of this nature and willingly sharing it, is illegal and those producing it or being in possession of it may face criminal charges.”

When cases like these are reported to the unit, an enquiry is opened and guilty parties are enrolled in a diversion programme, which is aimed at educating perpetrators on the risks involved in sharing photos of this nature and equipping them with the skills to deal with the consequences once these images have gone viral.

“Our aim is not to simply convict youths who have made errors in judgement and brandish them with a criminal record,” she said.

“However the diversion programme is not a ‘get-out-of-jail-free-card,’ the programme must be completed and only once we have received a satisfactory report from the facilitators will the enquiry be shut.

“If the participant does not comply with the requirements we move towards prosecution and criminal charges are laid.”

Veldman continues by saying that parents need to monitor youth’s online activity at all times to ensure that their teens do not become involved in sharing intimate pictures.

“What parents and teens do not understand, once a questionable picture has been shared on social media, it cannot be deleted,” she said.

“You may have deleted it from your device, your profile and even deactivated your account but images and information remain in cyberspace.

“It may be accessed by anyone with the necessary knowledge to access it and may be used on sites that sexually exploit youths. You do not know who may have your pictures and what they may be used for.”

Veldman says that the unit is available to visit schools to talk to learners about this matter.

Parents who feel that their children may be at risk or who may have made themselves guilty of sharing illicit pictures are urged to contact her on 082 822 8169 during office hours.

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