Ok To Ask?
It’s Not Ok to Ask for pics.
Everyone is not doing it. They will not be impressed. They don’t expect it.
About Ok To Ask?
Ok To Ask? aims to challenge perceptions that asking for nudes (also called youth produced sexual imagery) is part of teenage life. We want to empower young people to say no if they are under pressure to ask for or send a nude, and to provide support for those who might be in a situation where they are under pressure to do so.
The Ok To Ask? videos have been developed from young people’s stories and show Ryan reflecting on asking Jess for a pic, with his friend Jacob telling him he should not do it. You can watch the individual videos below to find out what happens and how each character reacts.
After the Ok To Ask? videos went live, we spoke to local young people and asked them for their thoughts on the videos, and how Jess, Ryan and Jacob behaved in the situation. You can watch that conversation below.
This project has been co-created with 13 to 17-year-olds in Surrey who explained why youth produced sexual imagery is an important issue to them and shared their experiences relating to this issue. Our research showed that often people do not want to ask, or be asked, and most people aren’t doing it. Young people told us about the negative effect being asked could have, from reducing confidence to changing friendships and relationships, to causing issues at school or home. They also took part in workshops to develop every element of the campaign including the name OK to Ask? and the video scripts.
The campaign is being led by Surrey Police with support from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey, who received Home Office funding from the ‘What Works Fund to prevent violence against women and girls'. It is part of a range of activities to create a safer culture in Surrey, where young people are supported to build healthier and safe relationships.
Find out more about what you can do if you, or your child, is under pressure to ask for or send a nude.
- Click here for more information for young people.
- Click here for more information for parents and carers.
- Click here for more information for teachers and professionals.
Support services
If you are in a situation where you are under pressure to ask or send, or may have sent or shared a nude, you can report this directly to Surrey Police.
The following services can also offer you more information and free, judgment-free support.
For more information and support:
Childline is a free, confidential service for anyone under 19 to talk through any issue they are going through, at any time of day or night.
Young Minds is the UK’s leading young people’s mental health support charity.
STARS is a service within the Mindworks’ children and young people’s Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Service in Surrey.
Shore is an anonymous service offering support for teenagers worried about sexual behaviour.
RASASC is a charity offering support for people over the age of 13 across Surrey who have had an unwanted sexual experience.
The NSPCC is the UK’s leading children’s charity and provides support for parents, carers and other adults to keep children safe, including online.
To remove an image or report:
Report Remove is a service provided by Childline helping under 18 year olds in the UK confidentially report sexual images of themselves and remove them from the internet.
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection website allows you to report online sexual abuse or inappropriate communication.
FAQs
The primary aim of the ‘OK to ask?’ campaign is to prevent children/young people from asking peers for sexual images. To challenge perceptions that asking for/being asked for images is ‘expected’, part of life/everyone is doing it. To highlight and encourage positive behaviours between young people – how to respond if someone says no to sending an image (e.g., not sending derogatory remarks, not shaming, not coercing someone or sending an image first to change their mind), what respect looks like between young people. We also hope to empower young people to say no if asked for an image. This will be by giving them tools to manage unwanted asks and changing the context, so they don’t fear shame or rejection for not responding.
The campaign is being led by Surrey Police with support from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey, who received Home Office funding from the ‘What Works Fund to prevent violence against women and girls'. It is part of a range of activities to create a safer culture in Surrey, where young people are supported to build healthier and safe relationships.
Surrey Police see Youth Produced Sexual Imagery as one of the most wide-spread, policing issues affecting the 13-17 year old age group.
Indeed, a third of indecent images of children that end up on the web are produced by young people themselves. Our intention is not to criminalise children, but it is however, crucial we do more to prevent this activity.
This campaign is being funded through the Home Office’s ‘What Works Fund to prevent violence against women and girls’.
Youth Produced Sexual Imagery is one of the most wide-spread, Surrey policing issues affecting the 13-17 year old age group.
Social marketing agency, Hitch Marketing completed a significant amount of research with the target audience, including in-person and online focus groups, surveys and ‘writers rooms’ which progressed the concept of ‘OK to ask?’ with the primary aspect of the campaign targeting the harmful behaviours of children/young people to prevent them from asking peers for sexual images.
Understanding that the most powerful form of behaviour change for this audience comes from what their peers think, this is a key aspect of the campaign. The language and scenarios portrayed in the campaign have been thoroughly tested to ensure it feels authentic and will resonate with the target audience – it truly is a campaign by young people, for young people.
It was important that the films captured the authentic voices and experiences of young people in Surrey. To ensure that participants could freely and honestly share their experiences and information without fear of negative consequences or harm, it was important to keep their anonymity. Young people's voices have been edited together to build an emotional narrative which has been re-told through actors. By ensuring we have captured young people's voices, this campaign truly is 'by young people, for young people'.
The campaign is initially being promoted through TikTok, Snapchat and via Meta (Facebook & Instagram).
Thank you for your interest in using the campaign. Please reach out to [email protected] for more information.
Please follow the link to the parent page which has more tailored advice. For more support, you can also reach out to one of the services above or report an incident to Surrey Police.
You can find out more about youth-produced sexual imagery through our website, or through the support services pages listed above.
You can report an incident directly to Surrey Police. For more information and support, please click through to the young people page where we also provide a list of support services who can help.