In The Room: Intimate Image Abuse
On Wednesday 6th November 2024, the SWGfl a leading Online Safety Charity, attended a parliamentary session to advocate for the many victims of intimate image abuse.
This session marks one of the many first steps the UK Government is taking to improve the safety of internet users of all ages. Though this session focused on adult victims of non-consensual image abuse, we as parents, know how important these steps/changes are as they trickle down and help protect our children.
Sophie Mortimer from Helpline discussed
"The impact on victims reaches into every corner of their lives - this impact is ongoing because, as the content continues to circulate online, [...] it's there every day" re-traumatising victims.
The Evidence
Shockingly the rise of non-consensual image abuse cases has risen ten-fold from 2019 to 2023, with thousands of victims representing just the tip of the iceberg. Unfortunately, many victims who report their abuse often describe having negative experiences with the Police, illustrating a lack of education and training occurring within our Policing bodies for such offences.
For child abuse image cases, the NSPCC released stats last year revealing that this type of offence has more than doubled in the past 5 years in the West of England alone. A representative noted that the new data shows, on social media and other messaging platforms "a failure to design child safety into the product" is partly to blame for such a significant rise.
The Future
During the parliamentary discussion with SWGfL, many advocated for legislation updates in which image abuse cases would be reclassified to enable victims to have the content removed faster, enhance blocking measures and prevent the re-traumatisation of victims by their abuser.
Non-consensual image abuse affects everyone within the UK of all ages, as these sessions take place aiming to improve the lives of all who use the internet, we as parents need to be aware of the many dangers that can occur when our children and teenagers are online.
At Big Sister, we advocate for children's safety online. Our app marks a positive change in the way that our children are protected online, using flags and alerts to warn parents of dangerous content without breaking down trust and privacy barriers between children and adults.
Find out more about how to protect your children online without breaking their trust in our latest blog here.
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