hi im 15 i sent nudes to a boy who i thought really liked me and now he keeps asking me to send again and i keep refusing. Now hes threatening to show everyone at school my nudes if i dont send to him again. i dont know what to do
Hi there,
Sending nudes can have risks that something like this happens, but that doesn't mean it's your fault. The person who is pressuring you is the one in the wrong and what he is doing is illegal. The best thing to do here is to to tell him you're going to get the police involved if he doesn't stop - and then you can decide if you want to actually do that or not.
Sometimes people send naked or sexual photos of themselves to other people as a way of exploring their own sexuality. It's normal to want to do that for someone if you think they have feelings for you. The problem with sending nudes is it can very easily get out of your control. If the person you sent them to is not as trustworthy as you hoped, you might find yourself in a difficult situation. When someone threatens to do something you don't want them to if you don't do what they're asking of you, this is called blackmail and is against the law.
The law does say it's illegal for you to both send and receive sexual photos if you are under 18 years old. However, this doesn't mean you would get in trouble, as it's unlikely the police would want to take any action against you. The police are there to help you in this situation and would be more interested in stopping this person from blackmailing you.
Some young people tell me that they don't want to tell anyone about what's happening because they are worried the police or teachers would see their photos. This shouldn't happen - all the guidance for people working with young people asks them not look at any of the images you sent.
One of the easiest ways to report this is by talking to CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command) - the part of the police who are there to look after young people online. You can report what's happening to them directly via their website.
I hope this has helped you to understand that what this person is doing to you is wrong and that it's okay to get help. You can also speak to a Childline counselor if you'd like to talk to somebody about this.
Thanks for writing.
Take care,
Sam
You can talk privately to a counsellor online or call 0800 1111 for free.
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