In the last 48 hours, we’ve received an overwhelming number of media requests to discuss the issue of sextortion, prompted by the tragic death of a 12-year-old boy in Prince George, British Columbia. It’s important to note that we’ve been addressing this topic publicly since 2010!
In 2010, when we first started teaching digital literacy and internet safety, we found ourselves as the only organization speaking to the perils of teen sexting and sextortion in school across British Columbia. Our commitment to this topic was highlighted publicly when the Oak Bay News interviewed us in early 2012, highlighting our insights with the headline, “Sexting puts youth at risk: Victoria bullying experts.” (1)
However, in early 2012, we faced critics who dismissed our efforts as “fear mongering,” arguing that incidents of this nature were rare. Undeterred, we persisted in educating both parents and students about what we perceived as a clear and present threat, despite resistance from some schools reluctant to have us include this topic in our presentations.
The turning point came in October 2012, with the tragic sextortion and death of teen Amanda Todd in British Columbia Canada. Suddenly, the issues of sexting and sextortion took center stage, and to our absolute surprise some of our earlier critics were now advocating for the urgent need to educate our children on this critical issue.
Since 2010, we have reached over 600,000 elementary, middle, and high school students from across Canada, educating them on the topics of digital literacy, sexting, and sextortion. Recent events in Prince George, highlight the pressing need for our message to reach more parents, caregivers, educators, and students across Canada – a message that needs to be compounded!
To help facilitate this outreach, we have created a FREE and comprehensive informational video on sextortion (2) and dedicated a whole chapter in our FREE webbook for parents on the topic as well (3). These two resources not only discuss the who, what, where, when, how, and why of sextortion, but they also provide parents and caregivers with strategies on how to talk about this challenging and uncomfortable topic as a family.
Given our commitment to combating this issue with as many tools as possible, since June of this year, we have volunteered our time with the province of British Columbia on an advisory panel, collaborating with legal and academic experts from across Canada to develop a reporting portal for the new provincial Intimate Image Protection Act. Another needed tool to help both youth and adults with the non-non-consensual distribution of their intimate image or the threat to do so.
As of November 27th 2023, we have also provided pro bono assistance to 295 teens and their families who reached out to us for help due to sextortion incidents. Sadly, we anticipate this number surpassing 300 teens by the year’s end – we hope we are wrong!
It is disheartening that it often takes a tragic incident, such as the recent death of a 12-year-old boy in Prince George, for parents, caregivers, educators, and teens to recognize the clear and present threat posed by sextortion and the need for prevention education. This realization is particularly poignant, given that in February 2023, a teen in the lower mainland of Vancouver died by suicide after he became the target of a sextortion.
We remain vigilant and steadfast in our commitment to ringing the bell on this clear and present threat to our kiddos. We will continue to educate on this topic to those who want to listen, and will continue to volunteer our services to help families who have been targeted, a mission we have pursued since 2010.
We extend our thoughts to the family of the Prince George boy. Their courage and openness in sharing their story during a difficult time are commendable and truly admirable. Their efforts aim to prevent another tragic loss of a child due to this evident and pressing threat.
The White Hatter
1/ https://www.oakbaynews.com/news/sexting-puts-youth-at-risk-victoria-bullying-expert-443507
