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Sexting

Sexting. Nancy V. Gifford Special Counsel iKeepSafe.org. Sexting – What is it?.

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Sexting

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  1. Sexting Nancy V. Gifford Special Counsel iKeepSafe.org

  2. Sexting – What is it? Generally defined as youth writing sexually explicit messages, taking sexually explicitphotos of themselves or others in their peer group, and sending those photos and/or messages to their peers via digital media (cell phone, computers, etc.). National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Policy Statement on Sexting (September 21, 2009) http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/NewsEventServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=4130

  3. Other terms to consider “Self Produced Child Pornography” – Mary G. Leary Catholic University School of Law “Youth Produced Sexual Images” -- Janis Wolak & David Finkelhor Crimes Against Children Research Center

  4. Sexting – A typology • Experimental A. Romantic B. Sexual Attention Seeking C. Other • Aggravated A. Adult Involved B. Youth – w/ Intent to Harm C. Youth – Reckless Janis Wolak & David Finkelhor, Sexting: A Typology, Crimes Against Children Research Center, March 2011

  5. Sexting – What it isn’t A minor sending a sexually explicit photograph of him/herself to an adult. An adult sending a sexually explicit photograph to a minor. A minor being blackmailed or coerced by an adult or a peer to make a sexually suggestive photo National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Policy Statement on Sexting (September 21, 2009) http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/NewsEventServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=4130

  6. Technology Used For Sexting Cell phones Computers Web cams Digital cameras Video game systems

  7. Teens Use of Technology Cell phone 82.9% Sent text message 78.3% Games 51.6% Facebook 49.8% Internet for schoolwork 49.4% Email 45.9% Used cell phone at school 45.4% Instant messaging 40.8% Took picture w/ cell 39.6% Sameer Hinduja & Justin Patchin, www.cyberbullying.us, Cyberbullying Research Center (2010)

  8. Teens Use of Technology (Cont.) Online games 38.7% MySpace 37.6% Gone online w/ cell phone 31.6% Chat rooms 17.1% Webcam 14.5% YouTube 11.1% Twitter 6.0% Virtual Worlds (for ex. Second Life) 5.9%

  9. Percentage of Teens Who Own A Cell Phone By Age: Pew Internet & American Unit Project (Sept. 2009)

  10. How Prevalent Is Sexting? The Cox Communications Teen Online & Wireless Safety Survey, in partnership w/ NCMEC, surveyed 655 teens b/w ages of 13 to 18.7 years • 9 percent said they had sent sexts • 19 percent had received sexts Girls were twice as likely as boys to have sent sexts. Among those who sent messages, 60 percent sent them to a boyfriend or girlfriend; 11 percent sent them to someone they did not know.

  11. How Prevalent Is Sexting? The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, in partnership with Cosmogirl.com, online survey with 653 teens aged 13 to 19 and 627 young adults aged 20 to 26. When sexting was defined as sending a sexually suggestive message, 38 percent of the teens said they had sent sexts When defined as sending nude or semi-nude photos, 19 percent of teens said they had sent sexts. Among the young adults surveyed, 58 percent had sent sexually suggestive messages, and 32 percent had sent nude or semi-nude photos

  12. How Prevalent Is Sexting? The MTV-Associated Press (AP) conducted an online survey of 1,247 teens & young adults between ages 14 and 24. Among young adults (ages 18 to 24), 33 percent had been involved in some type of naked sexting Among teens (ages 14 to 17), 10 percent had shared a naked image of themselves

  13. How Prevalent Is Sexting? The Pew Internet and American Life Project, in partnership with the University of Michigan, conducted telephone surveys with 800 youths aged 12 to 17. The survey required parental consent to participate and it took more than 135,000 calls before finding 800 participants. Only 4% of cell-owning teens ages 12-17 had sent sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude images or videos of themselves to someone else via text. About 15% had received such images of someone they knew Lenhart, A. (December 19, 2009) Teens and Sexting. Pew Internet and American Life Project. http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1440/teens-sexting-text-messages.

  14. How Prevalent Is Sexting Study Released on 4/18/11 Sampled 4400 students ages 10 – 18 using an electronic survey in a school computer lab. Sending Sext: 8.2% of Males and 7.2% of Females Receiving Sext: 15.9% of Males; 9.9% of Females http://cyberbullying.us/blog/sexting-research-and-gender-differences.html

  15. Differences In The Survey Results: The higher prevalence indicated in the Cox survey may be attributable to the broad definition used for the term sexting. In the MTV and the National Campaign and Cyberbullying surveys were conducted online and had older teens and young adults included The Pew’s lower statistics might be attributable to the younger targeted age range and to the sample set used because two-thirds of the youth interviews were conducted via land lines. In addition, the Pew’s study focused on images sent via text while the other surveys talked about sharing, posting or sending images without limiting the medium used.

  16. Sexting, Gender & Age The Pew survey revealed no difference in this practice related to gender. The Cox survey, however, suggested that girls are more likely to send a sext. The Cyberbullying survey suggests that boys are more likely to receive a sext. The Pew survey as well as the other surveys suggest that older teens are the most likely to report having sent a sexually suggestive image via text with 8% of 17-year-olds having sent one, compared to 4% of those age 12.

  17. Sexting & AdultsDo as I say not as I do…. • 6% have sent sexts • 13% of 18-29 have sent • 5% of 30-49 have sent • 15% have received • 31% of 18-29 have received • 17% of 30-49 have received sexts • Pew Internet & American Unit Project (Sept. 2009)

  18. Reasons Youth Participate In Sexting Three main situations in which sexting occurs: Exchange of images between two people who are in a relationship (e.g. as part of dating) Exchanges between people who are not yet in a relationship, but at least one person hopes to be (e.g. flirting) Exchanges between partners that are shared with others outside the relationship (with or without the consent of the minors depicted). Lenhart, A. (December 19, 2009) Teens and Sexting. Pew Internet and American Life Project. http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1440/teens-sexting-text-messages

  19. Who Do Youth Send Sexts to? Boyfriend / Girlfriend 60% Someone I had a crush on 21% Ex-boyfriend/ Ex-girlfriend 19% Best friend 14% Friends other than my/their best friend 18% Someone I don’t know 11% Classmates 4% Someone else 14% Decline to answer 3% I don’t know 2% *Teen Online & Wireless Safety Survey: Cyberbullying, Sexting and Parental Controls.  Cox Communications Teen Online and Wireless Safety Survey in Partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 2009

  20. Sexting: Experimental • Romantic: juveniles in an ongoing relationship made images for themselves and their partner, without intent to distribute • Example: 14 y/o boy and a 12 y/o girl who were in a relationship sent sexual pictures and videos to one another. When discovered by girl’s parent, told School Resource Officer and wanted boy prosecuted. When learned of daughter’s images, wanted daughter prosecuted, too. Both rec’d 20 hours of community service in juvenile court. Janis Wolak & David Finkelhor, Sexting: A Typology, Crimes Against Children Research Center, March 2011

  21. Sexting: Experimental Sexual Attention Seeking: images sent among youth who were not romantic partners or posted online for attention Example: 13 year old received a photo of a friend’s penis. Father found image and contact school. Both boy and girl stated the photo was sent during a late night series of texts and was intended to be “funny.” No charges brought. Example: a 14 year old girl in NJ faced child porn charges and potential sex offender registration after posting 30 nude photos of herself on MySpace. Actually received six months of counseling and probation and if she stays out of trouble the charges will be dropped Janis Wolak & David Finkelhor, Sexting: A Typology, Crimes Against Children Research Center, March 2011

  22. Sexting: Experimental Other: motive of youth difficult to discern (but no malicious intent). Example: 12 year old took photos of herself and kept them on her cell phone but did not distribute. Janis Wolak & David Finkelhor, Sexting: A Typology, Crimes Against Children Research Center, March 2011

  23. Aggravated Sexting – Youth Only Intent to Harm: Cases that arose from interpersonal conflict (i.e. break ups and fights between friends). Cases that involved abusive conduct (i.e. blackmail, threats or deception) Criminal sexual abuse or exploitation by juvenile offenders

  24. Sexting – Intent to HarmCase Studies Jessica Logan, an 18 year old Ohio teen, sent nude pictures of herself to her boyfriend. After they broke up, he forwarded the pictures to other high school girls. Jessica was harassed relentlessly. Ultimately, Jessica committed suicide. Jorge Suichil (TX) recently was arrested and charged with child pornography. The 17 year old asked a 16 year old girl to send him a photo of her topless. The girl agreed. Later, the girl told police that Suichil demanded she send him a completely nude photo of herself or else he would pass the topless shot on to his friends’ cell phones. The girl told school officials, who called the police. In Idaho, a 15 year old female high school student was charged with a misdemeanor offense of disseminating material harmful to a minor after she posed as a secret admirer online in order to trick another female into sending her nude pictures. She then forwarded the images to several others.

  25. “Revenge Porn” This term recently was added to the urban dictionary. It is defined as homemade pornography uploaded by an ex-girlfriend or ex-boyfriend after breaking up as a means of humiliating the ex or just for one’s own amusement.

  26. Case Study: • 18 years old from Wisconsin • Charged with making a bomb threats, sexual assault, possession of child pornography and five counts of child enticement. • Feb. 2010 -- Pled “no contest” to the sexual assault charges and was sentenced to 15 years. • Posed as a girl on Facebook • Used the false identity to persuade 31 boys to send him nude pictures then used those pictures as blackmail for sexual acts.

  27. Aggravated Sexting: Reckless Misuse Forwarding the images without the knowledge or intentional participation of the youth depicted in the photo. • Example: Three boys swimming without bathing suits at a party. Without the boys’ knowledge, a 17 year old girl video tapes the scene and then sends it to six girls’ cell phones. Girl charged in juvenile court. Janis Wolak & David Finkelhor, Sexting: A Typology, Crimes Against Children Research Center, March 2011

  28. Aggravated Sexting: Adult Involved • In some cases, the victim develops a romantic / sexual attachment to the offender. • Example 14 y/o communicates online with step-uncle (38 y/o). Eventually, the conversation turns sexual and leads to the exchange of images. Later, after their relationship turned sexual, they jointly made images. Offender sentenced to 10 years in prison. Janis Wolak & David Finkelhor, Sexting: A Typology, Crimes Against Children Research Center, March 2011

  29. Aggravated Sexting: Adult Involved • In other cases, the adult was deceptive in getting the youth to send the photos. Example: Offender targeted girls age 11 to 17 by posing as the owner of a modeling agency. He paid the girls for nude photos. In some cases, he molested the girls. Eventually prosecuted. Trial is pending. Janis Wolak & David Finkelhor, Sexting: A Typology, Crimes Against Children Research Center, March 2011

  30. Aggravated Sexting: Adult Involved Sexted images created for one purpose can find their way onto the internet and be downloaded by adults looking for child pornography. Law Enforcement officers are finding child pornography seizures now contain sexting photos “mixed in among hardcore child pornography.” Ronan O’Connell, “Police Warn of Sexting Dangers,” The West Australian (Feb 8, 2010), http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/mp/6772738/police-warn-of sexting-danger/

  31. Sexting Prosecutions 4 Possible Individuals to Prosecute: The person depicted in the photo The person who took the photo The person (or people) who sent / forwarded the photo The person (or people) who received the photo National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Policy Statement on Sexting (September 21, 2009) http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/NewsEventServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=4130

  32. Sexting Prosecutions Case of Jorge Canal 18 years old Exchanging e-mails with a 14 year old female friend She asked him to send a picture of his penis Eventually he sends it with the words “I love you” written across. Father finds the photo and brings it to police Convicted of knowingly distributing obscene material to a minor. Required to register as a sex offender.

  33. Sexting & Sex Offender Registries In many states,  if a person is convicted of a crime against children, it automatically triggers registration to the sex offender registry.  Currently, 38 states include juvenile sex offenders in their sex offender registries. Most states allow public access to sex offender registries via the Internet and anyone with a computer can locate registered sex offenders in their neighborhoods. 

  34. Sexting & PA case PA school officials confiscated several cell phones from students containing photos of semi-nude minor female students Feb. 2009, the DA sent letters to the parents of the three females depicted in the photos and approximately 17 students who had the images on their cell phones. The letter stated that they would not file charges for child pornography if the children entered an education and counseling program. Three females refused the deal and filed a TRO to prevent the DA from filing charges arguing, in part, that the images did not satisfy the definition of child pornography. Federal district court agreed and granted the TRO.

  35. Legislative Proposals At least 19 state legislatures have either passed legislation or have bills pending relating to sexting. Goal generally is to ensure that there are consequences for sexting that punish and deter, but are not so severe that the teen is required to register as a sex offender. Many state legislators also seem concerned about a minor having a permanent record (juvenile or criminal).

  36. Methods Used By Legislators To Address Sexting Modify criminal laws to create reduce child pornography offense to misdemeanor offenses when committed in the sexting context. Exclusion from Sex Offender registry Expungement of juvenile records Creating an affirmative defense to a charge of CP Some states have an educational component and/or diversionary program.

  37. School Responses to Sexting Story of Ting Yi Oei

  38. Sexting & PA case PA school officials confiscated several cell phones from students containing photos of semi-nude minor female students Feb. 2009, the DA sent letters to the parents of the three females depicted in the photos and approximately 17 students who had the images on their cell phones. The letter stated that they would not file charges for child pornography if the children entered an education and counseling program. Three females refused the deal and filed a TRO to prevent the DA from filing charges arguing, in part, that the images did not satisfy the definition of child pornography. Federal district court agreed and granted the TRO. Subsequent lawsuit by one of the students resulted in a $33,000 settlement paid by the school system.

  39. School Liability & Sexting School recently sued by family of Hope Witsell Hope was 13 years old when she killed herself after a sending her topless photo to a boy in school. The image was forwarded to others and led to serious bullying Alleged: School had her sign a “no harm” contract but did not contact parents

  40. Sexting & The Net Effect* The internet does not cause the problems we’ve seen, but it does change it in the following ways: Persistence and searchability Replicability Scalability Disinhibition Invisible audiences & the blurring of public and private *Anne Collier & Larry Magid of ConnectSafely, “Online Safety 3.0, Empowering & Protecting Youth.” (utilizing research conducted by dannah boyd in her doctoral dissertation, “Taken Out of Context: American Teen Sociality in Networked Publics”).

  41. Sexting & Digital Reputation If your image is in the sext: Once an image is sent to another cellular phone or posted online, it cannot be retrieved. As a result, the digital age has changed what might have been a forgotten youthful indiscretion and turned it into a public, distributable and permanent part of a teen’s life. If you forward a sext: Creating an online reputation and contributing to negative digital citizenship.

  42. Sexting & Digital Reputation Possible ramifications: School discipline Loss of scholarships Prohibition from participating in sports / after-school activities College admissions Employment opportunities Future testimony in criminal trials of adults who possess the images

  43. Emotional Consequences Sexting can “profoundly affect the emotional and psychological development of a child. Trust is broken when an image is forwarded without the creator’s consent, such as when a boyfriend forwards images that are intended to be private.” “Sexting Questions and Answers from NetSmartz,” Netsmartz.org 2009,http://ncmec.vo.llnwd.net/o15/downloads/special/Sexting_Prevention.pdf. Minors depicted in these images are likely to experience depression, anxiety and other negative effects from the fact that the images will be circulating and out of their control forever. Mary Graw Leary, “The Right and Wrong Responses to Sexting,” Speaking at the Witherspoon Institute, May 12, 2008, http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2009/05/227

  44. What can we do? Encourage Communication Encourage think before you post Explain digital reputation. Encourage kids to take charge of their digital reputation. Try not to overreact. Monitor for signs of depression Explain how to be an UPSTANDER

  45. Strategies for Parents • KEEP CURRENT with the technology your child uses. • KEEP COMMUNICATING with your teen about everything they experience through connected technologies. • KEEP CHECKING their cell phone and Internet activity. Review text messages and Internet histories. Let them know that you will keep checking because you want to help them protect their digital reputation.

  46. Recommended Reading Dena T. Sacco, “Sexting: Youth Practices and Legal Implications,” The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University (June 22, 2010). Mary Leary, “Sexting or Self-Produced Child Pornography? The Dialogue Continues – Structured Prosecutorial Discretion within a Multidisciplinary Response,” Virginia Journal of Social Policy and the Law, Vol. 17, No. 3, Spring 2010.

  47. Thank YouQuestions? Email nancy@iKeepSafe.org

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