Self-generated image study - final paper published

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has published the final paper relating to a study into self-generated, sexually explicit content of young people on the internet.

It was conducted in September 2012 over 47 working hours. The IWF's Analysts looked at the amount of content they could find which was sexually explicit, of young people which appeared to be self-generated either by themselves or someone else.

It revealed that most of the content catalogued by the analysts – in fact a whopping 88% - had been taken from its original upload source and put somewhere else. Often this would be in collections.

The message to our young people is that if they take part in creating this sort of imagery they are likely to lose control of it once it is uploaded on the internet.

Childnet and the SWGfL have developed two resources to help raise awareness of the potential consequences of sharing sexually explicit images and videos and to provide advice and guidance on how to support children and young people who have shared such images.  

Ends

For more information please contact:

Internet Watch Foundation:

Emma Lowther, Director of External Relations, IWF, on 01223 203030/07929 553679 or [email protected]

About the Internet Watch Foundation

The IWF was established in 1996 by the internet industry to provide the UK internet Hotline to report content within our remit:

- child sexual abuse content hosted anywhere in the world;

- criminally obscene adult content hosted in the UK;

- non-photographic child sexual abuse images hosted in the UK.

For more information please visit www.iwf.org.uk.

The UK Safer Internet Centre is a partnership of three organisations, Childnet International, the South West Grid for Learning and the Internet Watch Foundation. Its main functions are awareness raising, education and the provision of a Helpline and a Hotline.