The Guardian recently reported that there were 541 underage victims of 'revenge porn' in England and Wales last year. 'Revenge porn' means "the distribution of sexually explicit images or videos with intent to cause harm." 360 children were suspects in such cases, suggesting that a high number of such offenses is committed by children on other children. The avarage age of the victims was 15 years old, with the youngest being only 8 years old. It is particularly difficult to keep track of such records as young people are often reluctant to share such incidents with the police, since they fear judgement and the feeling of letting loved ones down.
After the findings, the media literacy charity, The Student View, has raised concerns in the delay of introducing the new relationship and sex education (RSE) curriculum in schools. The delay in many schools was caused by the disruptions of the coronavirus.
However, such trends are not only visible among children, since the UK's revenge porn helpline experienced its busiest year last year and this number is expected to increase this year as well.