OTTAWA and VANCOUVER — As today is Safer Internet Day, MediaSmarts and Telus Wise have teamed up to launch a series of videos and resources aimed at stopping young people from sharing intimate images of others without their consent.
The “There’s No Excuse” campaign includes a series of four short videos aimed at young people ages 14 and up. The videos were created in response to a national survey conducted in 2018 by MediaSmarts, which found 30% of youth ages 16 to 20 had shared an intimate image of someone with others, according to the news release. In addition, the MediaSmarts survey found that two-thirds of youth knew that sharing intimate images of others is illegal in Canada.
“Our research shows there is a moral blind spot around sharing someone’s sexts that let youth see it as not being wrong, or even to see it as the victim’s own fault. But we know it can be extremely hurtful and devastating for victims of these actions,” said Matthew Johnson, MediaSmarts’ director of education, in the release. “An abstinence approach — or one that focuses on what is and isn’t legal — just isn’t effective at preventing non-consensual sharing. These new videos and educational materials focus on the sharing behaviour to help put a stop to this illegal and harmful behaviour.”
The four videos explore the most common ways youth convince themselves it’s okay to share other peoples’ sexts without consent. Lesson plans are also available for high school teachers, as well as tip sheets and guides for parents, coaches, school resource officers and community leaders.
“We’re pleased to work with MediaSmarts to drive change on Safer Internet Day and beyond. Confronting the moral pitfalls of sharing sexts is a new, evidence-based approach that we as parents, educators and youth advocates can all use to address the culture of sharing that exists among youth,” says Nimmi Kanji, director of Telus Wise and social purpose programs at Telus, in the release.
The “There’s No Excuse” videos and supporting resources can be found on the Telus Wise website at telus.com/HowWouldUFeel and at MediaSmarts.ca.
