Fact Sheet - For youth aged 13–14 - Sexting and sextortion
Youth aged 13–14
Sexting and sextortion: what they are and how to deal with them
You’re probably curious about sex. That’s natural. It’s a healthy part of growing up, but it can have unexpected consequences if you are not careful, or make you vulnerable to people who want to take advantage of you.
What is sexting?
Sexting is creating, sending or sharing sexual messages, images or videos with friends, people you know or even strangers online. It could be sending naked pictures of yourself or others, sharing a video of someone naked or having sex, or sending a text describing sexual acts.
No one has the right to pressure you into sharing naked images. It may seem harmless when it is with your boyfriend or girlfriend, but be aware that once an image is sent, there’s no way of knowing where it will end up.
How can it impact you or your friends?
In the wrong hands, these images can end up hurting you or other people in different ways:
- It can make you a target of people who want to control or harm you
- It can be very upsetting when they are shared with other people
- It can affect the way people see you or act around you
- It can make it harder for you at school, activities and jobs
- In many cases, creating and sharing sexualized images of someone under the age of 18 years is illegal
What is sextortion?
Simply put, sextortion is blackmail. It’s when someone threatens to send a sexual image or video of you to friends, family or other people if you don’t provide more sexual images or videos or do what they ask.
What can you do?
- Immediately block and stop all communication
- Refuse to give in to threats — do not send more nudes or pay them money
- Keep the correspondence to show those who will help you
- If you get sent sexual materials, don’t forward them to others — you may hurt someone else
- Ask for help from parents, teachers, or another safe adult
- Report it to Cybertip.ca
- Get help removing sexual images or videos of yourself from the internet at NeedHelpNow.ca
It’s ok to be curious about sex and sexuality, but not with people you don’t trust completely.
Learn more at Canada.ca/childexploitation
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