COURAGEHAVETHETOSPEAKUP

orWhetherit’ssexualharassment,ahatecrime

Online Sexual Exploitation

Online sexual exploitation and abuse is when one person manipulates another person to get them to do something sexual, which can soon become an ongoing cycle of emotional and psychological abuse. This can include things such as forcing or blackmailing someone into to sending sexual photos or videos of themselves online or to perform sexual acts over a webcam. Online sexual exploitation can happen to anyone, and this abuse is illegal irrespective of their age.

The signs

If the person you’re communicating with does any of these things, it’s sexual exploitation:

■ Encourages you to do sexual things that make you uncomfortable

■ Sends you unwanted nude photos or flashes you on a webcam

■ Asks sexual questions about you or makes inappropriate sexual comments Exposes you to pornography without Encourages you to watch them do sexual things without your consent

You can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or call the police on 999 if you are in immediate danger.

You should also take these steps:

Never respond to threats. Don’t do what the exploiter wants, no matter how persistent or scary the threat. Stop all forms of communication and don’t reply to the person’s texts, emails or social media posts. Block them from all of your accounts. Deactivate all social media, e-mail and other accounts used to interact with the person. If you have other accounts not used to interact with the person, consider increasing your privacy settings.