The eSafety Commissioner, in collaboration with the Australian Federal Police-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) and the ThinkUKnow program, has developed a guide to help schools manage incidents involving explicit materials.
eSafety Education: A guide to dealing with the sharing of explicit material at your school has been designed to help school executives respond confidently and effectively to incidents that involve a student’s nude or sexual image or video being taken, shared or threatened to be shared.
Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, Paul Fletcher welcomed the initiative and said the guide would be an important tool for educators to help keep children safe online.
“It’s never been more important to equip our teachers with information to mitigate potential online harms. This best practice guide is the latest in a growing number of resources readily available on eSafety.gov.au,” Mr Fletcher said.
eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant said that of the reports made to eSafety about the sharing of intimate images and videos without consent, one third involved children under the age of 18.
“Sadly, young people’s prolific use of the internet makes them a common target of this devastating behaviour, impacting their self-esteem and schoolwork, and creating a lingering fear that these images will be seen by their family and peers,” said Ms Inman Grant.
She said the co-developed guide would include guidance on who to involve, where to report, how to deal with the offending material, and when to consult police.
“Help is here in more ways than one – we operate one of the only government-led services in the world to remove online image-based abuse material, as well as providing victims with a range of referral and support services,” said Ms Inman Grant.
Minister for Home Affairs, Peter Dutton said the close collaboration between the ACCCE and eSafety Commissioner was vital to protecting children online.
“The resource demonstrates the strong partnerships the ACCCE has established in its first year. We have a shared responsibility to ensure that our children and the institutions that protect them are equipped to manage and respond to a wide range of online threats. Prevention in respect to the online exploitation of children is our ultimate goal,” Mr Dutton said.
Mr Dutton said the Australian Federal Police (AFP) child protection network would play a crucial role in the successful implementation of the schools guide.
“We encourage students and the wider community to educate themselves on what is inappropriate content to share online; producing, sharing and storing child exploitation material, even if a young person has taken it of themselves, can be an offence,” AFP Acting Manager Child Protection, Marina Simoncini said.
The six-page guide can be accessed at this PS News link.
