ONLINE SAFETY AND IMAGE BASED ABUSE - ESAFETY RESOURCES FOR PARENTS
The below information relates to a range of resources to support parents in understanding online safety and image based abuse. At John Therry, we work with a range of organisations to support the education of our students in the area of online safety, including through our PDHPE Curriculum and wellbeing programs. Our Police Liason Officer visits are scheduled shortly to provide the police perspective on online safety and some of the legal implications.
Research shows that nearly 1 in 3 young people aged 14 to 17 in Australia had some experience of sending, sharing or being asked to share nudes. Further, around 1 in 8 young people in Australia indicated that they personally knew someone who, while under 18, had been the target of deepfake nudes and/or someone who had used technology to create or redistribute deepfake nudes of minors. A deepfake is a digital photo, video or sound file of a real person that has been edited to create an extremely realistic but false depiction of them doing or saying something that they did not actually do or say - hyper-realistic synthetic child abuse material.
Sharing sexually explicit images of children (those under 18) and sharing them without consent (no matter how old someone is) is image-based abuse – even if AI (deepfake) has been used or the images have been altered in some way.
Police sometimes need to become involved in these matters where creating, possessing or sharing nude images of people under 18, even if it’s a nude selfie, may be treated as the production and/or distribution of child sexual abuse material.
Supports:
We can take steps to help children avoid harm and feel safe and confident when they’re online. We can do this by paying attention to their online experiences, helping them build skills, using safety features in games and apps, and making it easy for them to ask for help if things go wrong. It’s also important to have open conversations about online risks with children, without scaring them. Talking about online child sexual abuse in a way that’s appropriate to their age and development makes it easier for children to speak up when they need help - For idea’s to speak with your child about online safety please refer to https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/issues-and-advice/protecting-children-from-sexual-abuse-online/talking-with-13-to-18
Mental Health support for students whose images have been shared without consent in particular if their face can be seen in the photos as this will have a huge impact on their mental health and wellbeing. Finding out that your nude has been shared can be very upsetting. It’s normal to feel a range of emotions such as anger, frustration, and embarrassment.
- If the parents are concerned for their child's safety recommend taking them to GP or ED for a mental health assessment (pending their presentation), contact Mental Health Line or Suicide Call Back Service 1300659467.
- School counselling support / check ins are available to students who may be impacted by image based abuse. This monitoring can provide ongoing support, and refer for more intensive support if required.
Additional supports parent can access online:
https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents
https://www.esafety.gov.au/young-people/receiving-unwanted-nudes
https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/webinars
https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/big-issues/unwanted-contact#how-can-i-protect-my-child
https://www.esafety.gov.au/key-topics/image-based-abuse
https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/issues-and-advice/protecting-children-from-sexual-abuse-online/talking-with-0-to-12