'We are losing kids to this': Winnipeg campaign focuses on dangers of sharing intimate images

A new campaign in Winnipeg aims to warn young people of the potentially devastating effects of sharing intimate images online.

Winnipeg police are teaming up with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection to teach students about the dangers of the practice.

The partnership, announced Wednesday, will see resource officers deliver the message to middle and high school classrooms across the city using informational materials from the centre.

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection's Signy Arnason says the issue needs to be taken seriously.

"All these kids are walking around with phones, they're sexually curious. Intimacy comes into play and you add in liquor — the party environment — and this becomes a very lethal environment that can turn very badly for the kids," she said.

"Prevention is absolutely key here because we don't want to be running around arresting kids for engaging in behaviour that for the most part is completely developmentally normal."

The campaign will also include radio and television spots as well as an online component through social media.

Arnason said the aim is both to teach potential victims about how to avoid being coerced into sending nudes and to show those who may end up with the pictures the risks — legal and otherwise — of sharing them.

In some cases, images that end up being widely shared are originally sent to a person the victim trusts or is a romantic relationship with. Other times the photos are sent to someone posing as a peer, said Arnason.

That can lead to sextortion, where the victim is asked to pay money to keep the images from ending up online, said Arnason. Victims often feel isolated and bullied, which can lead to a deterioration in mental health and even suicide, she said.

"We are losing kids to this," said Arnason.

"This is a big deal and we all need to take it seriously."

Against the law

In Canada it is illegal for a person to distribute an intimate image of another person without that person's consent.

Under the Manitoba Intimate Image Protection Act, the Canadian Centre for Child Protection is the designated organization for providing support to those impacted by the non-consensual distribution of an intimate image.

Arnason said the centre's national tip line has received 550,000 reports since it was set up 16 years ago. The Cybertip.ca website, focused on protecting children from online sexual exploitation, sees 2,400 unique visits a month.

They also get seven direct requests every week for help from young people in crisis tied to the non-consensual sharing of a sexual picture, she said.

Many of those young people simply want help getting the photos taken offline.

"But once you have shared that it's very difficult to regain control over the material," said Arnason, who added teachers and parents can't be expected to always be there to protect potential victims.

"You cannot be monitoring everything kids are doing.

"So you have to empower them with the skills to think critically … when they're faced with one of these situations."