A woman I used to work with has a daughter of about 3 and has been in a relationship with a man for about 18 months (not the daughter’s father). I’m not particularly close to this woman, we stopped working together a couple of years ago and I’ve been out with her as part of a group 3/4 times since then but she’s probably not someone that I’d meet up with just us and we exchange maybe half a dozen WhatsApp messages a year just as quick catch ups.
Anyway she’s a lovely, friendly lady although perhaps not the best judge of character. She’s been in a series of abusive relationships over the past decade including her dd’s father who is no longer allowed to contact her or her daughter due to violence towards both of them. The latest boyfriend seems friendly enough, I kind of already knew him (small town) and never heard anything bad about him.
About 6 months into their relationship new boyfriend quit his job as a taxi driver to be a full time photographer, something which he’d always done as a hobby on the side. He started off doing wedding photography but that didn’t really take off so has been doing lots of portraits, boudoir shoots and stuff. Not properly sexy stuff but shoots of good looking couples in their underwear doing sort of Mills and Boon cover style stuff. But what makes me (and a couple of mutual friends I’ve chatted to a bit uncomfortable) is the fact that sometimes included in these shoots or as individual photos dumped in the middle of a collection of a dozen or so photos of a couple snogging in front of a sunset will be my friend’s little girl. One particular photo is of a woman leaning back being supported by the man who is leaning over her and giving her a passionate kiss, little girl is holding onto woman’s leg (adults only in underwear) and looking directly at the camera. Another set of photos are of a couple kissing on a bed, man pinning woman down by her wrists but bedroom door seemingly deliberately ajar and little girl on the sofa in the background playing on a tablet.
This is deeply weird, right? A couple of people have posted comments such as “is that X in the background? 😱” on Facebook and comments have simply been deleted. I know friend helps out with the management of his social media accounts but I don’t know if it was him or her who deleted the comments. The most recent photos posted were, I think, the worst. All of little girl dressed in one of those sort of Japanese school uniforms, like a little sailor type outfit, if that makes sense? But she’s licking a lollipop and appears to have red make up on her knees (she could have just bumped them but it looks like make up). These photos are getting hundreds of likes and I find them chilling. I know they’re just photos and they’re not graphic in themselves but they do not sit right with me.
Should I speak to the mother about it? I know which nursery she goes to so possibly someone there instead? Or even NSPCC? Could they do anything about something that is so open to interpretation? I don’t know if I’m just pearl clutching or not. Other friends have said it makes them uncomfortable too though.