The Times - UK (2021-12-06)

the times | Monday December 6 2021 2GM 11

News

Young people face a crisis of online
sexual violence, with unsolicited sexual
images becoming “dangerously nor-
malised”, academics warn.
A study involving young people aged
12 to 18 found that most girls had re-
ceived an image of male genitalia, often
from adult men who were strangers.
More than half of the boys and girls
who received unwanted sexual content
online or had their image shared
without their consent did nothing. A
quarter told a friend. Only 2 per cent
reported the incident to school author-
ities, 5 per cent to parents and 17 per
cent to social media companies.
Girls also felt pressured to “trade”
intimate images with boys who sent
pictures unsolicited. They were then
mocked or bullied when their photos
were shared among classmates.
The report by academics from Uni-
versity College London, Kent Univers-
ity, the School of Sexuality Education
in London and the Association of
School and College Leaders said that
children received sexual images almost
from the moment they set up accounts
with Snapchat, Instagram or TikTok.
It recommended that tech compa-
nies should keep a record of images,
make privacy settings clearer and easier
to change and do more to verify users’
ages and identities.
It also advised that schools change
their guidance to “remove any victim-
blaming rhetoric”, such as teaching
pupils that they should “resist pressure”
to have sex. An Ofsted report into
sexual harassment in schools was wel-
comed but the report said that it failed
to look at how sexual harassment cul-
tures were fostered in schools, such as
through punitive uniform policies that
focused on girls’ bodies.
The report added that parents should
not have an overly negative and disci-
plinary approach to the use of techno-
logy: “Children often avoid telling their
parents about their experiences of
sexual harassment and abuse because
they worry about being punished or
having their technology taken away.”
The study involved 480 young people
from across the UK — 366 via an online
survey and 144 in focus groups.
Three quarters of the 88 girls in the
focus groups said that they had re-
ceived an image of male genitalia,
which for most were unwanted and
unsolicited. “Participants described

work on Eastenders, said the eccentric

nature of the aristocracy made them

excellent subjects for drama.

“They’re absolutely off the wall,” she

told the Radio Times. “The basic prob-

lem is that they have way too much

time on their hands and they are all

about dynastic marriages and they get

bored of each other and go to house

parties where they always see the same

people and they steadily work their way

through each other’s husbands and

wives, and they are bonkers and they

make great copy.”

Her latest drama is the second from

Blueprint, the company behind the hit

series A Very English Scandal, adapted

by Russell T Davies from the novel by

John Preston, portraying the downfall

of the Liberal MP Jeremy Thorpe. It

starred Hugh Grant as Thorpe and Ben

Whishaw as his lover, Norman Scott.

The latest production will dramatise

the 11th Duke of Argyll’s underhand

efforts to secure a divorce from Marg-

aret in court. Argyll, played by Paul Bet-

tany, arranged for his wife’s private pho-

tos and diaries, containing evidence of

her multiple adulteries, to be stolen. He

also circulated a list of about 80 men

that she had allegedly slept with during

their marriage. When a judge granted

the divorce he branded Margaret as a

“completely promiscuous woman

whose sexual appetite could only be

satisfied with a number of men”.

The upper class inspire salacious TV
shows because they are “bonkers”
and have lots of affairs out of bore-
dom, the screenwriter behind A Very
British Scandal has said.
Sarah Phelps was discussing the
inspiration behind the new
show, based on the sensa-
tional 1963 divorce trial of
Margaret, Duchess of

Why bored, bonkers, posh people make for the best television

Charlie Moloney Argyll, which stars Claire Foy.
Margaret was known for a
string of adulterous romances
and a famous polaroid photo
showing her naked but for a
string of pearls with a mysteri-
ous lover known as “the head-
less man”.
Phelps, best known for her

Claire Foy plays Margaret,

Duchess of Argyll

Young girls are

‘bombarded’

with sexual

images online

instances where the senders were adult

men who had created false identities.

Nearly half of incidents of image-based

sexual harassment were from un-

known adult men, based on profiles.”

Professor Jessica Ringrose, lead

author of the report, said: “Young

people in the UK are facing a crisis of

online sexual violence. Despite these

young people saying they felt disgusted,

embarrassed and confused about the

sending and receiving of non-consen-

sual images, they rarely want to talk

about their online experiences for fear

of victim-blaming and worry that

reporting will make matters worse.

“Although the non-consensual

sending and sharing of sexual images

may be common and feel ‘normal’, it is

extremely harmful.”

The report said: “Unfortunately, this

form of image-based sexual harass-

ment was often experienced on a regu-

lar, sometimes daily basis. The majority

of the unwanted images were sent us-

ing Snapchat, which allows for young

people to be inundated with this con-

tent if their privacy settings are off —

contributing to a normalisation of

these harmful behaviours over time.”

A spokeswoman for Meta, the parent

company of Instagram, said: “Keeping

young users safe is our top priority, and

we have measures in place to protect

them. This includes defaulting young

people into private accounts, prevent-

ing adults from messaging anyone

under 18 who doesn’t follow them, and

making it harder for potentially suspi-

cious accounts to find young people. If

anyone is sent an unsolicited explicit

image we strongly encourage them to

report it to us and the police.”

A Snapchat spokesman said: “Any

sexual harassment is deplorable and we

work with the police and industry

partners like Childnet to keep it off

Snapchat. The app is private by default

— you need to accept someone before

they can message you — and we add

extra protections for younger users to

prevent strangers identifying and

contacting them.”

A Department for Education

spokeswoman said that the education

and culture secretaries met executives

from the tech giants last week to discuss

protecting children online and that

children were taught how to recognise

and report abuse. “The curriculum cov-

ers how pupils should report concerns

and seek advice when they suspect or

know that something is wrong.”

Nicola Woolcock Education Editor

Child safety groups have threatened

legal action against the UK data watch-

dog if it does not introduce age verific-

ation checks for pornography online.

The Children’s Charities’ Coalition

on Internet Safety, which represents 11

children’s charities including the

NSPCC and Barnardo’s, told the Infor-

mation Commissioner’s Office (ICO)

that it would bring a High Court chal-

lenge if it did not take action.

In a letter to the ICO the group

Child charities threaten legal action over porn

Katie Gibbons

A British teenager attacked by a croco-

dile during a rafting trip in Zambia is

suffering flashbacks and nightmares

but remains “calm, upbeat and brave”,

her father said last night.

Amelie Osborn-Smith, 18, suffered

severe leg injuries when the 3m-long

crocodile dragged her into a “death

roll” close to the Victoria Falls.

The former pupil of St Swithun’s

School, Winchester, was on a gap year

trip when she was attacked on Tuesday.

It is believed she had been dangling her

leg over the side of the boat.

Brent Osborn-Smith, 60, said his

daughter had been touched by a “lov-

ing” message of support from children

in a remote village in Zambia. “Al-

though still very shocked and suffering

from frequent flashbacks and night-

mares, Amelie remains calm, upbeat

and brave.” Osborn-Smith said.

“She feels extremely grateful for the

excellent treatment that she has been

given.”

He added that his daughter was in a

“stable” condition and was being flown

to a London hospital with costs met by

her insurance. “The family remains

profoundly appreciative of the con-

siderable effort shown by a host of

people on her behalf. A long road to re-

covery lies ahead but Amelie is happy

to be in the best possible hands.”

Amelie was taken to hospital in Lu-

saka, the capital, 240 miles from where

the attack took place. Crocodiles lurk

near-submerged in rivers and lakes as

they wait for passing prey, which they

typically grab by a limb and spin in a

death roll to drown it before eating.

Teenager’s

flashbacks

after attack

by crocodile

Cameron Charters

Doing the rounds Emma Corrin, who played Diana in the fourth series of The

Crown on Netflix, at the British Independent Film Awards in London last night

IAN WEST/PA

warned that the government’s failure to

stop children seeing pornography was

causing lifelong trauma and put child-

ren at risk of abuse and exploitation,

The Guardian reported. The group has

called on the ICO to use powers under

the recently introduced age appropri-

ate design code to introduce rigorous

verification methods.

John Carr, secretary of the coalition

and the author of the letter, has written

to the information commissioner to

urge action. The ICO has previously

said, however, that the age code was not

intended to impose age restrictions on

pornography sites.

The letter states: “You remain the

only person in the country with the

power to act to protect another gener-

ation of children.” Carr said the coali-

tion could seek a judicial review if the

ICO declined to act.

Plans for age verification for online

pornography in the UK were ditched in

2019 when the government said it

would focus on including child protec-

tion in the Online Safety Bill, which is

about to be put through parliament.

Amelie Osborn-

Smith was on a

rafting trip near

the Victoria Falls