Children sharing indecent images

Schools round here have been very clearly telling children for a couple of years at least. My dc have been aware and so have I for some time.

I have spoken to my year 7 about this.

I have told him if he received it to delete immediately and never ever share.

delete.
and report.

But, to be honest, I would not report it if it was between over 16.

To all those commenting, can I just say.
15 is underage for sex
17 can be MARRIED and be sending shot to their own husband/wife.

If the law were to be changed, it would not be for 15 year olds, it would be for between 16/17 year olds.

There is a problem in this, in that the police have quite strict guidelines, and I am not sure they are allowed to make the choice to just give them a serious talk as opposed to charging them

So, it is a very real possibility that a 17 year old, sending a topless pic to their boyfriend, ends up with a criminal record and on the sex offenders register for possession of images of a minor.
That is why the law is scary.

The part of the law protecting under 16s is not up for discussion I don't think.

I'm guessing report it to someone (teacher would be fine). Or to the Sm eg Instagram.

Steppemum is up on this by the looks - I've not had the training for a while which is why I was wrong about the ages, sorry.

And also if the parent owns the contract of the phone they could also be charged with possession of indecent images.
A lot of schools do try and impress this on kids but I agree I'm not sure it's as clear as it could be.

While I agree that naked pictures of children shouldn't be taken. There is a massive difference in intention between a 15 year old having naked pictures of themselves or another 15 year old and a 40 year old taking pictures of 12 year olds. The former is very unwise - the 15 year old is putting themselves in a vulnerable position but the latter is abusive.

Two nearly 16 year olds having consensual sex is between those two nearly 16 year olds.

Naked pictures taken on a mobile phone, probably automatically saved to the cloud, and sent to another phone? The whole world could end up seeing them. Ask Jennifer Lawrence.

Naked pictures of children taken for sexual purposes should not be allowed to exist at all.

I think the law should stay as it is. You can't have a nearly 18 year old sharing pictures of a 12 year old with 50 people on snapchat, including adults, for example.

It is easier if sharing naked pictures of children is illegal in all circumstances. It is an easier message for kids to understand than having complex rules about it.

It is better for the police to be able to talk tough and say it is a crime if you share pictures, rather than tell a 13 year old they are allowed to sent naked photos of themselves, as long as it is only to people their own age.

I would hope the police apply some common sense about which cases they pursue though, as they do with two nearly 16 year old's having consensual sex.

I disagree racecardriver.

I have 2 teens, they know this law, and many of the other relating to internet very well, and are not stupid. I have taught them, and so has school.
It is a choice you have to make individually with each child. But I trust mine not to do anything stupid. So far that trust has proved sound.

I’m glad this is the case.

BTW I am not in any way an expert, not in police, or law.
I have just done some recent training as part of safeguarding.

I would hope at least that the crime they would be charged with would be different from the crime a 40 year old would be charged with if they were disseminating images of young children

same crime (if the police choose to press charges)

it is the taking of indecent images, the possession of indecent images, and the distribution of indecent images. Even if it is of yourself.
To make it worse, if as a prank they take a dick pick and send it to their mates, ALL of their mates who have the picture on their phones become guilty of possession of indecent images.

This is why children really really shouldn't be given smart phones. I grew up with them and I know that they are a recipe for trouble and completely unnecessary. They can manage with a monitored pc for homework and a regular phone for keeping in touch with people.

Under 16 not under 18, age of consent is 16 in uk

yes it is 18, because this is not about age of consent.
For the purposes of indecent images, the image is held to be of anyone under 18.

The law needs updating, not to change the children bit, but to acknowledge the age 16/17 part, and of young people sending their own image to their own boyfriend/girlfriend.

The again, keeping the law as it is does make everyone think twice.

Why should the law be updated so that naked images of children can be circulated?

Someone who is almost 18 should be able to take photos of themselves if they want to.

It's also fairly obvious that a 15 year old giving photos of themselves to a partner (while very wrong in itself) is not the same as an adult taking or sharing images children.

Blimey I just checked and it is 18, that does seem crazy

Why should the law be updated so that naked images of children can be circulated?

Once the images are there, they can leave the control of the couple, consenting or otherwise. Those images should not exist, loopholes should not exist.

At least that's what I thought - if it's 18 that's mad, the people in question could be married!!

Under 16 not under 18, age of consent is 16 in uk

Thanks for the clarification clary. It does seem like the law needs updating if two almost 18 year olds in a consenting relationship can't exchange images with each other. I would hope at least that the crime they would be charged with would be different from the crime a 40 year old would be charged with if they were disseminating images of young children.

It is alos a case of the law lagging behind reality, because in this case the law is anyone under 18.

So 2 17 year olds in a consensual sexual relationship would be guilty of indecent images of they took a photo of them selves and sent it to their partner.

To be fair I have heard this talked about a lot, and I think it is told very clearly to most in school. My kids seem to know it well, and be very wary of ANY photos they send.

User if a child takes an indecent photo of themselves and shares it with another child, then they are breaking the law. I don't think anyone is equating that with paedophilia, but it's still illegal and they could be prosecuted.

This was covered in PHSE class in year 7 for my son and also a parents talk about all things internet related for that year group.