Students were urged to stop and think “before you hit send”, in a presentation on “sexting” given to students at Assiniboia Park School by Const. Darcy Cleasby of the Weyburn Police Service on March 7.
Members of the police service have been doing “sexting” presentations at schools through the Southeast Cornerstone and Holy Family School Divisions, as part of an effort that included bringing in speaker Tad Milmine on bullying, and a puppet show from the Regina group, “Kids on the Block”, all looking to keep students safe at school and at home.
In the presentation at APES, Const. Cleasby addressed students from Grades 4 to 6 about what “sexting” is and the importance of not taking or sending photos of themselves or of friends of a sexual nature. “A phone or an iPad is a very powerful thing, and sometimes parents don’t know how to run them,” he told the students. “Think before you put anything on your computer or iPad.”
He noted that “sexting” is a term that refers to sending or receiving any image or video of a nude or semi-nude person for a sexual purpose, either on social media or via the Internet. From information even from a few years ago, school boards were identifying sexting as their No. 1 behavioural problem they are dealing with, said Const. Cleasby, with children as young as Grade 4 receiving such images on their phones. “Young people are getting these powerful electronic devices and they don’t know the rules. They’re doing things they shouldn’t be doing,” he said.
Const. Cleasby gave an example of a girl who took a photo of herself in a bikini and sent it to a guy she was going out with at the time, and he then sent it on to other people. “It happens so fast,” he pointed out, noting a test done by the Ontario Provincial Police a few years ago. They put an image on the Internet, and tracked it to see how far it would get in 90 seconds, which was the time that a Polaroid photo used to take to fully develop.
They found that in 90 seconds the photo image had traveled to 21 countries, and was on 91 computers.
He noted if any of the students put a photo of themselves on their computer and onto the World-Wide Web, it’s there permanently. “Once it’s on the Internet, it’s impossible to get it off,” he said. “Once a picture is out there, we can never get it back.”
Statistics from a number of years ago showed that one in every four teenaged girls and one in every three teenaged boys have received explicit photos, and Const. Cleasby said it’s very likely that more up-to-date numbers are much higher than that.
When this happens, the impact on students includes anxiety, embarrassment, depression and isolation as people treat them differently after seeing an explicit photo of them on a website, Facebook or on a social media app.
“If you do make a mistake, we want to educate you and help you. If you make a mistake, talk to your parents, or a teacher or counselor. It doesn’t mean you’re going to jail, but we can get you some help,” said Const. Cleasby.
There are resources that students can access, including NeedHelpNow.ca, or cybertip.ca if a person wants to report a photo of sexual exploitation of a child or teenager.
On the other hand, if you are a person who is sending out or forwarding exploitive photos, the police can track those photos as to where they are originating, plus those who store such photos in their computer or forward them on can be charged with possession or distributing of child pornography.
It’s not only illegal to take a sexually-themed photo of a child or to send one on, but it’s also illegal to use such images to coerce or force a person to send more, or to threaten violence, or to defame or impersonate someone, explained the constable.
“I’m not trying to scare you. You should treat people the way you want to be treated. If something’s happened, we want to help you to try and fix it,” he said.
