One in 10 girls has been threatened with having nude photos of them shared with others, shocking new data shows, as experts warn misogyny is becoming an “everyday part of childhood”.
A new report by leading children’s charity Barnardo’s found one in seven 13-15 year olds have been asked to send a nude image, while a quarter of all 13-20 year olds had seen a nude photo that had originally been sent privately and had been shared.
Speaking to The Independent, the charity said there is a “direct, undeniable link between the casual disrespect young people see in easily accessible pornography and the attitudes they bring into their real world relationships”.
Luneta Tajblova, senior practitioner at Barnardo’s said: “As frontline workers we are witnessing a deeply concerning reality, the pressure on girls to share intimate images has become normalised.”
She added there is a “stark” double standard that sees the blame shifted back onto victims when such images are shared.
“We repeatedly hear lines like, “You should have known better,” or “Why did you send it in the first place?,” Ms Tajblova explained. “This onus on the girl who has shared the image, as opposed to the person who distributed it to others without permission, actively blurs the lines of consent and protects those responsible for the abuse while shaming the girls involved.”
But she said we “cannot look at this behaviour isolation,” and that there is a “direct, undeniable link between the casual disrespect young people see in easily accessible pornography and the attitudes they bring into their real world relationships”.
“Viewing women being demeaned in online pornography is shaping how some boys view consent and respect in real life,” she told The Independent.
The charity also warned online misogyny is now “part of the background noise of growing up”, as one in four girls revealed they had been called degrading names online or on social media.
The survey of 4,000 young people across the UK showed how misogyny has become an “everyday part of childhood”, with boys saying they feel unable to challenge their peers on the issue.
Over one in five (21 per cent) of boys said their friends would not back them if they called out sexist comments, and the majority (57 per cent) of boys said people would think they were “boring” if they don’t join in with the group’s “banter”.
Olly, age 18, said: “As a young man, I see online misogyny every day. It sets the tone for how boys treat girls and how boys treat each other. There is pressure to laugh it off or stay silent, even when it crosses a line.
“Young men set the standard. Challenge it, shut it down, and back those who speak up. That is how we change what is accepted.”
Barnardo’s have warned that misogyny is “constant, corrosive and deeply embedded” in the lives of young people, with 29 per cent of frontline practitioners saying they have seen an increase in the past year in child-on-child sexual abuse and/or children displaying problematic or harmful sexual behaviour.
Ms Tajblova said online misogyny doesn’t just harm women and girls, but has a “negative impact” on boys too. “They are facing immense peer pressure to conform to these rigid, dominating attitudes towards women and girls which means coercive behaviour and control are normalised as badges of masculinity among peer groups and by misogynistic influencers,” she explained.
“Crucially, we see boys who want to push back, who know this is wrong, but feel unable to speak out because doing so means facing social exclusion and isolation from their friends.
“At the same time, our service has seen young boys becoming targets of sextortion in online chat rooms, proving that the online world is increasingly unsafe for all young people.
“This has to change. We must stop blaming victims and start having honest, urgent conversations about respect, consent, and the influence of online content.”
Sarah, Children’s Services Manager for South West England, said: “We’ve supported young girls who have had digitally manipulated (deepfake) images of them created and circulated online.
“The images were shared through social media platforms, sometimes via fake accounts created to spread the abuse further. Incidents like this cause significant emotional impact including fear and distress.”
Barnardo’s is calling on the government to upgrade the regulator Ofcom’s Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) guidance to include a mandatory Code of Practice challenging misogyny online and offline.
Its chief executive, Lynn Perry, said the findings of its survey showed how “constant, corrosive and deeply embedded” misogyny is in the lives of young people today.
She said: “It shapes how boys and girls think about themselves, their worth and their relationships with others. Young people are telling us that the result can be harmful on all sides, from humiliation and sexualised abuse to feelings of shame and isolation. This is not inevitable – it is learned, and it can be challenged.
“That’s why we’re raising the alarm and we want young people’s experiences to be at the heart of conversations about how to tackle misogynistic content online.”
An Ofcom spokesperson said platforms must tackle online harms to ensure misogynistic hate and abuse is deprioritised in children’s feeds.
“We’ve also set out clear and practical steps that companies can take to stop online gender-based harms. Where tech firms fail to protect young people under their duties, including from unwanted messages or images, we will act,” they added.
A government spokesperson said the findings were “deeply shocking”.
They added: “The criminal law on child sexual abuse material is crystal clear, and companies have a duty under the Online Safety Act to prevent and remove this illegal content. Ofcom has our full backing to act against those who fail to comply.
“We are also acting on emerging threats, making sure new technologies like chatbots protect users from illegal content and banning AI tools designed to generate child sexual abuse material.”
