What is Youth Produced Imagery?

Youth produced imagery describes the sending or posting of nude or semi-nude images, videos, or live streams by anyone under the age of 18 online.

Once the image is sent, that person loses control of the image, and it may be shared more widely, or even end up online, causing great distress for those involved and affect their mental health and wellbeing.

It is important to remember doing this is illegal but the police use their discretion when considering each case as they do not want to criminalise young people who are likely being exploited.

Giving the right support

There are many reasons why a young person shares these images but the most important thing is to support them in the right way.

It is important not to blame them or use victim-blaming language (“well that was silly”) and instead to reassure them and allow them to safely explore with you what happened and why. From here, you can begin to explore solutions together.

There are tools to help remove the images, such as the Internet Watch Foundation’s Report, Remove tool.

As a school committed to safeguarding our young people we take this issue very seriously and know how this can impact a young person’s mental health and learning. If you learn your child has been involved in Youth Produced Imagery please let us know so that we can support them in school and provide you with any additional guidance or support.