Jersey Organizations Introduce Child Online Safety Initiative

An initiative is underway in Jersey focused on enhancing children’s online safety, aiming to stop them from being pressured into creating and distributing sexual images. This effort commenced at a conference organized by NSPCC Jersey and the Safeguarding Partnership Board on November 7, where discussions centered on the island’s approach to protecting children online. Roxy Longworth, 22, addressed attendees at the gathering, advocating for more dialogue on the subject. She recounted her personal experience of being coerced into taking nude images at the age of 13. Ms. Longworth stated that parents lacked adequate knowledge regarding the internet’s risks, even for children in primary school. She remarked: “What this conference is showing is how much younger it’s getting when people first experience some of these things online.” She continued, “Young people aged under 11 are experiencing these things and you can start the conversations very young and in a way that’s about how you feel about yourself, and how that makes you vulnerable online. “Those conversations can be quite subtle, rather than explicit and that has to happen super early,” she added. Ms. Longworth indicated that her ordeal was exacerbated by her belief that she could not discuss the incident with her parents. She emphasized the critical need for young individuals to feel comfortable discussing online safety with adults they trust. She commented: “The things that my parents understood like drugs and alcohol, they spoke to me about openly. “They always said I could go to them If something bad happened in terms of those things. “We didn’t have that conversation around online stuff.”” Ms. Longworth further stated: “I felt so ashamed, I didn’t speak to anyone. It meant that everything got so much worse.” Ms. Longworth highlighted that engaging in “open and honest conversations” with young people is crucial for establishing a “safe space to go and ask questions” concerning the subject of naked photographs. Data from a 2023 Internet Matters survey revealed that 17% of individuals aged 15 to 17 have shared nude or sexual images online, alongside 7% of 14-year-olds and 4% of 13-year-olds. Emma Motherwell, the local campaigns manager for NSPCC, commented: “We are pleased to be working alongside our partners in Jersey to bring forward this campaign which we hope will help professionals, parents and carers to protect children and keep them safe.” For updates, follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Story submissions can be sent to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding our external linking policy is available.