Ok To Ask? - Information for parents and carers
Young people told us that being asked for or sending nudes was an important issue in their lives. Asking, or being asked for an image is seen as common, but our research showed that often people do not want to ask, or be asked, and most people aren’t doing it.
Parents and carers have an important role to play in helping young people to navigate the pressure to ask for and send images. There are many things you can do to help support them with this topic:
- Talk to them. You can use the Ok To Ask? videos and resources as a conversation starter.
- Ask open questions and remind them they can share as little or as much as they like. It doesn’t have to be about their experience and can just be about the practice of asking for or sharing inappropriate images online more generally.
- Remind young people of the risks associated with asking for or sharing an image. You can discuss appropriate ways to engage with other young people online or talk to someone they like.
- Recognise the pressure that they might feel to ask for or send a nude and remind them they should never do anything they don’t feel comfortable with.
- When having those conversations, avoid using shaming language, judgment or blame, whether talking about them directly, or the people around them.
- If you find out they have asked for or sent an inappropriate image, stay calm and create a safe environment. Reacting negatively could shut the conversation down.
- If they have already sent a message or image, refer to the services here to help them get the image removed. You can also report any messages or images if that is something they want to do.
Support Services
If someone you know is in a situation where they are under pressure to ask or send, or may have sent or shared a nude, this can be reported directly to Surrey Police.
The following services can also offer you more information and judgement-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.
STARS is a service within the Mindworks’ children and young people’s Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Service in Surrey.
UK Safer Internet Centre is a global partnership providing support and services to children and young people, adults facing online harms, and professionals working with children.
The NSPCC is UK's leading children’s charity.
To remove an image or report:
Report Remove is a service provide 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.