The sexting scourge came to the fore when photographs of 20 Pretoria
high school boys went viral this week after being posted on Twitter
through a fake account.
But it is not the first or the worst case. Cyber forensic specialists revealed yesterday that they had recently dealt with a case in which more than 200 Johannesburg Grade 11 pupils were sending or receiving images of themselves and classmates naked.
"It's nothing but child abuse," said expert Danny Myburgh. "The pictures being taken, sent and received are disturbing, increasingly violent and incredibly explicit."
Myburgh, a cellphone technology specialist at Cyanre: The Computer Forensic Lab, warned that the distribution of such pictures was getting "worse".
"The majority of images distributed through sexting are from the internet, then selfies and then children photographing each other in compromising sexual positions.
"In the last month we have received three cases of mass sexting involving Pretoria and Johannesburg schools.
"The case [of the 20 children] is not the worst. We have a case where the entire class of a Johannesburg high school is involved. It involves more than 200 children.
"Sexting and extortion, which often comes with it, is increasing, with each case becoming worse in content," Myburgh said.
"Those involved simply don't realise the implications of their actions. Taking, distributing and possessing such images is criminal. It's child porn."
Emma Sadlier, a social media lawyer, said: "It is clear our children are being failed. They are given powerful tools [cellphones] yet no one gives them the knowledge to stay safe. It's terrifying."
Arthur Goldstuck, a social media expert, said that describing what was happening to South African children on social media merely as "sexting" trivialised the horrendous abuse that children endured.
"Social media are tools in this abuse . not what leads to the abuse. When sexting - usually between consenting adults - goes beyond sexting and becomes blackmail, it's criminal.
"The dramatic increase in access to smartphones, added to the huge levels of experimentation and the functionality of the phones, results in the existing high levels of abuse being captured and becoming more visible.
"Blaming social media is to wash one's hands of the initial crime - child abuse."
Shaeda Omar, director of the child rights organisation TeddyBear Clinic, said the scourge of child sexting was driven by the need for acceptance and for control over others.
"Children who sext are often very needy, believing the only way to be accepted is to do this.
"The explosion of sexuality in the media, adverts and films also drives this. It sends messages that this is normal, that inappropriate behaviour is now appropriate."
Myburgh said the speed at which technology was reaching people was driving cyber crimes.
"Radio reached 50million people in 38 years, TV in 13, the internet in four, Facebook in three. Cellphone apps take just 50 days to reach 50million people." he said.
Netsmartz.org, an educational programme of the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children designed to teach children how to be safer, reveals that:
But it is not the first or the worst case. Cyber forensic specialists revealed yesterday that they had recently dealt with a case in which more than 200 Johannesburg Grade 11 pupils were sending or receiving images of themselves and classmates naked.
"It's nothing but child abuse," said expert Danny Myburgh. "The pictures being taken, sent and received are disturbing, increasingly violent and incredibly explicit."
Myburgh, a cellphone technology specialist at Cyanre: The Computer Forensic Lab, warned that the distribution of such pictures was getting "worse".
"The majority of images distributed through sexting are from the internet, then selfies and then children photographing each other in compromising sexual positions.
"In the last month we have received three cases of mass sexting involving Pretoria and Johannesburg schools.
"The case [of the 20 children] is not the worst. We have a case where the entire class of a Johannesburg high school is involved. It involves more than 200 children.
"Sexting and extortion, which often comes with it, is increasing, with each case becoming worse in content," Myburgh said.
"Those involved simply don't realise the implications of their actions. Taking, distributing and possessing such images is criminal. It's child porn."
Emma Sadlier, a social media lawyer, said: "It is clear our children are being failed. They are given powerful tools [cellphones] yet no one gives them the knowledge to stay safe. It's terrifying."
Arthur Goldstuck, a social media expert, said that describing what was happening to South African children on social media merely as "sexting" trivialised the horrendous abuse that children endured.
"Social media are tools in this abuse . not what leads to the abuse. When sexting - usually between consenting adults - goes beyond sexting and becomes blackmail, it's criminal.
"The dramatic increase in access to smartphones, added to the huge levels of experimentation and the functionality of the phones, results in the existing high levels of abuse being captured and becoming more visible.
"Blaming social media is to wash one's hands of the initial crime - child abuse."
Shaeda Omar, director of the child rights organisation TeddyBear Clinic, said the scourge of child sexting was driven by the need for acceptance and for control over others.
"Children who sext are often very needy, believing the only way to be accepted is to do this.
"The explosion of sexuality in the media, adverts and films also drives this. It sends messages that this is normal, that inappropriate behaviour is now appropriate."
Myburgh said the speed at which technology was reaching people was driving cyber crimes.
"Radio reached 50million people in 38 years, TV in 13, the internet in four, Facebook in three. Cellphone apps take just 50 days to reach 50million people." he said.
Netsmartz.org, an educational programme of the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children designed to teach children how to be safer, reveals that:
- 93% of teenagers go online;
- 75% have cellphones;
- Teens send and receive an average 1500 text messages a month;
- A third of teenagers experience online harassment; and
- 4% of cellphone-owning teens say they have sent nude/semi-nude pictures and 15% say they have received sexually suggestive images of someone they know.
- Monitor your children's behaviour;
- Know who they are in contact with and what apps they are using;
- Get up to date with cellphones and apps; and
- Empower your children with a strong sense of their rights and what to do about potential abuse of their rights.
No comments:
Post a Comment