Online Safety - Olivia Hosie

OLIVIA HOSIE Online Safety

Part 2 POTENTIALLY HARMFULL SITUATION

A teenage girl (Sally) sends an intimate photo of herself to her boyfriend (Tom). He then shows his friend the next day. The friend takes a screenshot of the photo and sends it on to other people at their school and it ends up being posted online. This scenario uncovers the harmful consequences of sexting and how acting in the moment before thinking can have serious effects on a person.

In this case, Sally would face a variety of physical, social and emotional consequences as a result of being involved in a crime of child pornography. The teenage girl could experience embarrassment and humiliation as the sharing of her image escalates and is shown to the rest of the year group. Sally could be left feeling betrayed and isolated as her once private photo has become public without her consent. According to Sexting, (2009) bullying and ridiculing commonly follow these types of circumstances. VeryWell (2019) states that “There are countless stories of young women who have participated in sexting and later have been bullied for it.” Sally could experience feelings of vulnerability as her friendships dissolve due to her friends’ fears of being bullied themselves, or their reputations damaged by association.

Most children don’t recognise sexting a boyfriend or girlfriend to be a criminal act. The girl and anyone else involved (boyfriend, boyfriend’s friend, and anyone with the photo) could face the risk of legal action including; the risk of receiving criminal charges for child pornography or the risk of having to register as a sex offender, depending on the impending outcomes. Child Pornography Laws in Australia (2018) support this as they state that “Penalties can vary, from suspended sentences to community service through to gaol time.” Physically, socially and emotionally the girl and anyone involved is impacted, not only in the short term but in the long term, for example their future career, education and relationships.

Part 3 EFFECTIVENESS OF A STRATEGY

A strategy Sally could implement to manage her situation would be for her to report the photo and the situation. For Sally to do this, she first needs to either talk to a parent, carer, teacher or counsellor or someone she feels she can trust. This creates a safe space for the teenager to be reassured and more advice to be obtained.

To report the circumstances or photo,Sally can access the eSafety online image-based abuse report resource or contact the police, since she is under the age of 18. eSafety can “help with the removal of intimate images or videos, and in some cases, take action against the person who shared intimate images or videos without the consent of the person in the images.” For eSafety to be able to help Sally, she would need to complete the online report form. Based on the information she provided, her report will then be submitted to eSafety as either a complaint or an objection notice. This will result in actions being made in order to protect Sally. According to Australian Federal Police (2017) “The eSafety office will investigate all valid complaints and take action in relation to prohibited and potentially prohibited content”.

By reporting her situation Sally would be able to trust that an action will occur. Although Sally could face her own charges, she needs to abide by the law and learn from her mistakes. All further distribution of the image would be stopped allowing Sally to feel safe whilst she manages the consequences or outcomes encountered from this situation. Sally could experience embarrassment from telling either her teacher or parents, however there are necessary steps to be taken including accepting responsibility for the part her actions played in the situation in order to move forward. By being mindful and aware, this situation can be prevented from causing irreparable damage to Sally’s future mental health Reporting will always result in an action of sorts, showing the effectiveness of the strategy.

Although, the above strategy is an effective option because action is inevitable, it is important to note that the outcomes are unpredictable as legal authorities decide what kind of action will follow. The aftermath of the action could conflict with the expectation of what was intended. Predicting the law is difficult according to Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (2015) “Prosecuting these offences often involves complex technical and evidentiary issues.”