RISK OF SEXTORTION The term ‘sexting’ has emerged as the use of text messages to send sexually explicit media and messages. Sexting is also commonly done over popular apps such as WhatsApp and Instagram Direct Messages (DMs), but we have seen it widely popularized through Snapchat due to its ability to send photographs, videos, and messages that can only be seen once for a few seconds before “disappearing” from the user’s feed. Sexting has its dangers and it’s important to acknowledge how it can permanently impact the lives of our youth. One of the most dangerous scenarios that we see occur repeatedly, especially in teenagers, is sextortion. Sextortion is where non-physical forms of coercion are used to extort non-consensual sexual favors from the victim (i.e., sharing intimate details, sexual images, or videos of the victim online if they don’t meet their demands such as money, sexual favors, more nude photos, etc.). Sextortion can happen to anyone who chooses to sext – it’s not always performed by a stranger who is unrelated to the victim – it can be someone close to them. It is crucial to understand when someone chooses to engage in sexting, they are subjecting themselves to sextortion. Sextortion can occur regardless of age, gender, or sexual orientation; however, research shows that women, teens, and children are most likely to be targeted. 8 However, we are starting to see an increased trend among males of all age ranges being targeted by sextortion scams. 9 When responding to cases of sextortion, SS/TA Teams must pay careful attention to: • Recognizing that sextortion is a traumatic experience that can be stored at the cellular level. • Understanding how traumatic events can affect an individual, group of individuals, or an organization/system. • Responding compassionately and thoughtfully. To ensure a trauma-informed response when handling sextortion cases, trained multi-disciplinary SS/TA Teams must respond to a report of possible sextortion that co-occurs as a parallel process with a behavioral and digital threat assessment. The threat assessment process helps determine the immediate safety and emotional needs of the victim and concerns regarding the Subject of Concern (SOC).
8 Home – protectchildren.ca 9 https://cybertip.ca/en/online-harms/sextortion/
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