Signs Something Is Not Right
No matter how you connect with others on the internet, you should be aware of the ways that someone could harm or exploit a young person under the age of 18 years.
Deceiving you: Watch out for someone trying to make you believe information that is not completely true. Using pushy tactics: this happens when someone does not respect your personal space or privacy. They may ask you questions that test your personal boundaries by making comments or acting in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable. Asking you for naked or sexually suggestive pictures: It is against the law for an adult to ask a young person sexual questions about his or hers private areas. It is also against the law to ask you to take your clothes off or suggest to look at or touch your private areas. Taking a picture of a young person or asking them to send a naked picture is also against the law. It can happen on the internet or in real life. This is considered child sexual abuse. When it happens online, you may hear it called "Internet Child Exploitation". Asking you to meet up for sex (or drugs/alcohol): An adult may use the Internet to try to get a young person to meet up for the purpose of sexual activity. Just because you agreed to meet up with someone, does not mean that you consented to sexual activity. When a young person has been sexually exploited, it is never the young person's fault, even if the sexual activity was not forced. Sending you sexually obscene material: If someone sends you writings, drawings, photographs or videos of a sexual nature, that's considered pornography. It's against the law for an adult to communicate with a young person for sexual purposes or show sexual pictures. Lacking respect for your feelings and personal boundaries: All people need to set personal boundaries and others should respect those boundaries. If someone you are chatting with on the Internet says mean and humiliating things about you or others, "unfriend" or block them from sending you further messages. |
The Criminal Code Protects Youth Under 18 Years From Sexual Exploitation
A few things you should know
- Children under 12 years of age can never legally consent to sexual activity.
- The legal age at which a young person may consent to sexual activity is 16 years.
- A young person under 18 years cannot consent to sexual activity with a person in a position of trust or authority over them. This is considered sexual exploitation.
- A young person under 18 years cannot consent to pornography or prostitution.
Ask yourself these questions before you upload a photo or video to the Internet:
- Could the video/photo embarrass or humiliate me if it became public?
- Could the video/photo affect some future opportunity - job, travel, school?
- Could an Internet predator download the picture and share it with others for sexual purposes?
- is the video/photo against the law (i.e. naked picture)?