Abuse through sexual image sharing in schools: Response and responsibility

The question of how to tackle abuse through adolescent sexual image sharing is an increasing concern for schools, yet little is known about how they should respond. In this article, I review school responses to this phenomenon. The findings presented are taken from a mixed-methods study into harmful sexual behaviour carried out in seven educational settings across four local authorities in England. Using data from focus groups, observations, case reviews and reviews of policies and procedures I present findings on abuse through image sharing including suggestions for safer school environments. I argue that responses to adolescent sexting must move beyond risk aversion and challenge the very socio-cultural systems that enable abuse through sexual image sharing. Achieving this requires responses that recognise developing adolescent sexuality within a digital age and understanding what works in practice for schools and young people. Concurrently, schools have responsibility to challenge socio-cultural norms underlying harmful sexual practices between young people.

"While students could articulate the significance and implications of abuse through image sharing, school responses appeared aimed at targeting all forms of image sharing. Furthermore, schools felt unsure of how to manage incidents directly and what approaches work." (Lloyd, 2018: 799). "sexting itself is not the problem but the fear, or experience of, having the image shared beyond the perceived receiver. This distinction is important when we consider abuse through image sharing and how schools can respond. Abuse through image sharing happened in all schools we visited as evidenced in focus groups and case reviews. Typically, this involved a girl’s image being shared on social media without her consent. This could be through someone directly sharing the image with their friends, social media ‘followers’ or anonymously. Social media platforms used varied between incidents but the intent of sharing was similar across incidents – for people to see." (Lloyd, 2018: 791).