Sexting is a word in our modern lexicon born of the marriage between the words “sex” and “texting.” It means sending images, via cell phone or tablet, of children or teens that are inappropriate, naked or engaged in sexual acts.
Sometimes teens share the photographs voluntarily, but at other times teens may be coerced into taking or sending the photographs. Once the photos are sent, some kids use them to bully, harass, intimidate, or embarrass victims online or via mobile devices.
Sextortion involves children and teens being threatened and coerced into sending explicit images online, it is a crime.
Blue Campaign is a national public awareness campaign designed to educate the public, law enforcement, and other industry partners to recognize the indicators of human trafficking, and how to appropriately respond to possible cases. To request posters that raise awareness of Human Trafficking from the Blue Campaign, click here.
Reporting is easy! If you come across something upsetting, or if anyone asks you to do something inappropriate or that makes you uncomfortable, please report the Snap. (KCSS Handout)
Family Pairing features let parents link their TikTok account to their teen’s to
enable a variety of content, privacy, and well-being settings. (KCSS Handout)
Taking a picture of yourself and posting it has become a virtual phenomena. Celebs are doing it, athletes are doing it and the President is doing it! (KCSS Handout)
Law Enforcement Can Subpoena “IP Addresses”. On Social Media Apps, when users agree to the terms of service an account is formed and information is logged. One piece of this information is a user’s IP address. (KCSS Handout)
Sending sexually explicit messages, photos, or videos via cell phone, computer, or any digital device. Sexting may include photos and videos containing nudity or showing simulated or real sex acts. It also includes text messages that discuss or propose sex acts or other sexually explicit exchanges. (KCSS Handout)
REMS – This fact sheet describes sextortion and its impacts on students and outlines how schools can protect youth from sextortion through the creation and modification of a Sextortion Annex in the school emergency operations plan (EOP).
Common Sense Media – Most middle schoolers aren’t prepared for the risks associated with sexting and self-disclosure in relationships. As technology makes it easier than ever for kids to share photos digitally, the stakes have never been higher. In this video, your students can listen to other teens’ honest — and sometimes frank — thoughts about their experiences with sexting, then consider how they might react in similar situations.
National Association of School Psychologists – It is much better to work to prevent sexting than deal with the aftermath, but educators must know how to do both.
Bark – Bark for Schools provides a world-class online safety solution for K-12 schools in the U.S. Our comprehensive solution comprises G Suite and Office 365 student account monitoring, Chrome/Chromebook monitoring, and a web content filter that categorizes and blocks harmful and inappropriate domains.
NetSmartz – Sextortion is a type of blackmail used by offenders to acquire additional sexual content from a child, coerce a child into engaging in sexual activity, or obtain money from a child. Children can sometimes become victims of sextortion after sexting with someone they thought they knew and trusted, but NCMEC analysis has found that children who are victims of sextortion are often targeted and blackmailed by an individual they met online. That person may use deceit, coercion, or another method to obtain a nude or sexual image of the child before blackmailing them for more.
NetSmartz – Learn why they do it and what to say about it.
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children – This service is one step you can take to help remove online nude, partially nude, or sexually explicit photos and videos taken before you were 18.
OnGuard Online – This guide from the Federal Trade Commission covers issues to raise with kids about living their lives online.
Common Sense Media – It’s natural for teens to be curious about their emerging sexuality. But most middle-schoolers aren’t prepared for the risks of exploring this in the digital age. Help students think critically about self-disclosure in relationships and practice how they’d respond to a situation where sexting — or a request for sexting — might happen.
International Task Force on Child Protection (ITFCP) – This protocol provides a framework to guide school leaders and strengthen decision-making as they manage allegations of child abuse by educators and other adults currently or previously working in international school settings. Building on the work of the International Task Force on Child Protection (ITFCP) and the Safeguarding Unit at Farrer & Co, we continue our work across professions to develop child protection resources for the international school community.
Cyberbullying Research Center (Sameer Hinduja, Ph.D. and Justin W. Patchin, Ph.D.) – This regularly updated fact sheet provides a brief overview and link to each of the state sexting laws.
KET Education – In this video, Mary Beth Uberti of Operation Parent discusses the legal implications regarding sexting.
To help K-12 schools and school districts understand ASM, develop related policies and procedures, train on ASM awareness and prevention, and recognize the role of social media and technology in ASM, the REMS TA Center has released this guide.
FindLaw – Under both state and federal law, child pornography is illegal. In Kentucky, there are various laws that criminalize the creation, possession, distribution, and promotion of material that portrays sexual performances by minors.
REMS – Webinar on the topic of adult sexual misconduct (ASM) in schools, and how schools and school districts can address this issue through the framework of their emergency operations plan (EOP).
This downloadable PowerPoint is a brief overview of cyberbullying and sexting for school staff and parents. It defines and clarifies two types of digital media abuse. (KCSS)
This PowerPoint is to be used with middle school and high school students. It is an overview of sexting and includes a definition, the consequences and the ramifications if caught with sexting photos. (KCSS)