{"id":16034,"date":"2021-04-09T00:00:36","date_gmt":"2021-04-08T23:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dide.org\/sexting-sextortion-and-grooming-what-are-they-is-your-son-or-daughter-safe\/"},"modified":"2021-04-09T00:00:36","modified_gmt":"2021-04-08T23:00:36","slug":"sexting-sextortion-and-grooming-what-are-they-is-your-son-or-daughter-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dide.org\/en\/sexting-sextortion-and-grooming-what-are-they-is-your-son-or-daughter-safe\/","title":{"rendered":"Sexting, sextortion, and grooming. What are they? Is your son or daughter safe?"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to data from the Aula TIC PYMES of the USC, 40% of adolescent girls in Europe between the ages of 14 and 15 see no problem in taking photos with sexual content. 1 in 6 minors would take them completely naked. This fact, in itself, is already worrying, but it is even more so if we take into account practices such as <\/span>sexting<\/b><\/em>, <\/span>sextortion<\/b>, and <\/span>grooming<\/b><\/em>. If half of these words sound foreign to you or you wouldn’t know how to fully explain what they are, keep reading. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At <\/span>dide<\/strong><\/a> we believe that knowledge of these practices helps to identify and eradicate them. Therefore, we encourage parents to get to know their children better<\/strong><\/a> and the online world in which they are immersed, to ensure their safety not only in the physical environment. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What is sexting<\/em>?<\/span><\/h2>\n

If we take into account that this English word derives from \u201csex\u201d which means sex and \u201ctexting\u201d which means sending, we will already have a slight idea about this practice. <\/span>Sexting<\/i><\/b> consists of sending messages, photographs or videos of a sexual nature over the Internet, with instant messaging and social networks being the most used channels. Although this practice is very common today, the main sexting practitioners <\/span> are adolescents between 12 and 16 years old, although it is also very widespread among adults, sometimes it constitutes a privacy problem. The main problem with <\/span>sexting<\/i><\/b> is dissemination; when an image leaves a mobile phone, control of it is lost. It is impossible to know who, when, or where it has been seen. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Statistics on Twitter for the hashtag ‘fototetas’ as of 05\/11\/2017<\/span><\/h5>\n

What is sextortion<\/em>?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Although it can be very related, it is important not to confuse this term with <\/span>sexting<\/span><\/i>. <\/span>Sextortion<\/b><\/em> is sexual blackmail. The extortionist blackmails the victim with private content of the user, usually sexually explicit photos or videos. This content can be obtained by hacking technological devices, sexting<\/em>, or <\/span>grooming<\/i><\/b>. In exchange for not disseminating said content, criminals demand something in return, from money, more content, payments, or favors of a sexual nature.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"what<\/span><\/p>\n

What is grooming?<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

Grooming<\/i><\/b><\/span> is understood as the series of actions and strategies carried out by an adult to gain the trust of a minor, through the Internet, with the aim of obtaining favors of a sexual nature. It is, therefore, sexual harassment of minors online. The person who performs these actions is called a \u2018 <\/span>groomer<\/span><\/i>\u2019.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Their most common tactic is to pose as minors in order to contact their targets, gain their trust and, in this way, get them to send them sexually explicit content that compromises them. Once they get the files, they blackmail and extort the victim to get abuse in real life. When this happens, the \u2018 <\/span>groomer<\/span><\/i>\u2019 becomes a pedophile.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Having explained these terms, you should know that the Spanish Penal Code in section 2 of article 183 defines these practices as a crime:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone who, through the Internet, telephone or any other information and communication technology, contacts a minor under sixteen years of age and performs acts aimed at deceiving him\/her into providing pornographic material or showing<\/span> pornographic images<\/span> in which a minor is represented or appears, shall be punished with a prison sentence of six months to two years.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Advice for parents on sexting<\/em>, sextortion<\/em> and grooming<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n