Talking to teenagers about sending explicit photos may be awkward, but it’s not stopping the Canadian Centre for Child Protection from starting the conversation.
The organization is using humour to address the serious situation with their new ‘Don’t get sextorted’ campaign.
READ MORE: Edmonton teen facing charges connected to online ‘sextortion’
“What’s sextortion? It’s when someone you meet online tricks you into sending naked pictures or videos of yourself and threatens to send them to your friends or family unless you pay or send more nudes,” a tutorial video explains.
Rather than sending a naked picture of yourself, the centre recommends sending a photo of a naked mole rat instead.
“I feel like as a guy, it’s more humorous that they brought out [the campaign] with a naked mole rat, because it’s disgusting seeing [one],” teenager Austin Smith said.
The CCCP reports sextortion cases have increased by 89 per cent over the past two years, compared to 2013-14.
Is using the image of a hideous animal too flippant a way to address a serious problem? Regina Police certainly don’t think so.
They’ve sent out a tweet encouraging families to learn more about the campaign.
“I don’t think it makes light of the situation — I think it adds humour to a very delicate situation and it gets parents talking to their kids about what is going on,” said RCMP Staff Sgt. Scott Lambie, head of the Internet Child Exploitation Unit.
“It’s very difficult for young boys to talk about it… If they shared an intimate image, they kind of want to keep it secret and to themselves, but it’s better to get it out there and get it dealt with.”
The target audience seems to agree.
“I might send a naked mole rat — that is pretty funny,” Hendrickson said.