Relatable language, fast-paced messaging and avoiding scare tactics are key to the new project, thanks to the input of Scottish teens
Young people in Scotland have worked alongside the UK charity Crimestoppers to create and star in a hard-hitting awareness campaign aimed at stemming the growing problem of sextortion.
The crime involves people being tricked into sending intimate images of themselves to online blackmailers, who then demand cash under threats to make the pictures public.
Teens are particularly vulnerable to the sting, with multiple reports around the world of people taking their lives as a result.
In the US, the number of global sextortion cases reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children more than doubled in 2023, rising to 26,718 compared to 10,731 the year before.
Boys are particularly at risk, with the Internet Watch Foundation revealing that 91% of UK cases it dealt with in 2023 involved males. Three in five of the reports it received were from 16 to 17-year-olds.
Crimestoppers’ youth service, Fearless, enlisted the help of teens to break down generational language barriers for a series of reels that are being shared across TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram.
Ruby, 15, at the launch of the Fearless (part of Crimestoppers) Sextortion Campaign in Glasgow
The youths advised, for example, that while law enforcement agencies talk in terms of ‘intimate images’, your average teen is more likely to refer to ‘dick pics’, ‘nudes’ and ‘scuds’. They suggested using relatable language, fast-paced messaging, and avoiding scare tactics.
Lyndsay McDade, Fearless Scotland manager at Crimestoppers, said she had worked with youth groups across the country to find out about young people’s understanding of sextortion, and establish what they would engage with on social media.
While law enforcement agencies talk in terms of ‘intimate images’, your average teen is more likely to refer to ‘dick pics’, ‘nudes’ and ‘scuds’
“Fear of getting into trouble was a big concern for young people, so to be clear – if this has happened to you, it is not your fault – you are a victim,” said McDade. “You won’t face any blame, people just want to help you.”
She urged anyone affected to talk to an adult, go to the police directly or contact Childline “And for adults, as a mum of teenagers myself, I know how difficult this topic can seem,” added McDade. “Please visit our website fearless.org to learn more and consider talking to your young person about this. More than anything, they need to know that they can come to you should this ever happen to them and that they will be supported to get through it.”
Images: James Chapelard for Crimestoppers
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