The following page contains pertinent information for parents and youth in addressing the issue of sexting and sextortion.
Websites
Need Help Now - Youth can access this website to help #ChangeTheStory. Whether they need help removing a sexual picture/video from the Internet, with cyberbullying or dealing with their peers, to supporting a friend in need, this site provides valuable and reliable information.
Media Smarts - Canada's leading Centre for Media and Digital Literacy. Parents will find a wealth of information, statistics and tips sheets.
Netsmartz - Tips, resources and information on basic internet safety, cell phone use, cyberbullying, gaming, identity theft, and sexting.
Cybertip!ca - Canada's national tip line for reporting the online sexual exploitation of children. Operated by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, this website receives and processes tips from the public about potentially illegal material, as well as activities regarding the online sexual exploitation of children, and refers any relevant leads to the appropriate law enforcement agency and/or child welfare agency. The website also provides the public with information and other resources, as well as support and referral services, to help Canadians keep themselves and their families safe while using the Internet.
Parent Resources
Healthy Relationships - This NeedHelpNow.ca resource helps youth to learn about healthy relationships. Youth are asked to consider the points of intersection between caring and controlling behaviours and the risks involved in such situations as well as the role of technology.
Young Canadians In A Wired World Executive Summary - This report is the result of a 2013 national survey involving over 5,000 students in grades 4 to 11 from all provinces and territories in Canada. The results focus on the extent to which youth use the Internet as a resource to explore sexuality and relationships. Read through the executive summary or the entire report for statistics and other contextual data.
Steps to Remove Pictures and Videos from the Internet - This NeedHelpNow.ca resource offers practical steps to take when an inappropriate image or video has been posted on a website.
Self Peer Exploitation Family Resource - The Canadian Centre for Child Protection has issued this comprehensive guide to assist families when their children have created and shared a sexual image or video of themselves with a peer or shared an image or video of a peer with others. Refer to the guide for practical, concrete strategies to use with affected or acting-out youth.
Self Peer Exploitation - This one-page information sheet provides parents with information about youth and sexting as well as four key conversations to have with youth about sexting. Consult this resource from the Canadian Centre for Child Protection to assist in framing conversations about sexting.
Talking To Youth About Sextortion - Cybertip!ca offers useful steps to share with youth if they're dealing with sextortion and also preventative measures to ensure that they remain safe online. Use this resource to gather proactive, responsive, and supportive strategies.
Talking To Your Kids About Sexting - MediaSmarts, Canada's Centre for Digital and Media Literacy, provides information about healthy relationships and strategies to address youth sending and forwarding sexts. Draw from the discussion prompts offered in this resource to empower youth and to provide them with sound decision-making practices.
Tips to Preventing Sexting for Teens - From NetSmartz.org, this tip sheet presents useful tips to share with children. As well, this resource contains background information about the reasons for and consequences of sexting along with what a parent can do to prevent sexting. Consider reviewing this information with your child before he/she receives a new piece of technology.