Girls under 13 pressured on nude pictures

THOUSANDS of girls aged 13 and under are being put under pressure by classmates to send nude pictures or videos, a survey has revealed.

The poll of 5,000 teenagers found more than half of those aged between 14 and 18 have been sent a nude image.

A third of girls said they had first been asked to send a naked picture when they were aged 13 or younger. A quarter of boys who had sent a nude photo said they first did so before they were 14.

The Not Just Flirting survey said the widespread sharing of naked images on apps such as Snapchat can lead to longlasting problems for young people.

The consequences of having nude pictures leaked can be devastating for girls, but increase the social status of some boys. The research found that girls – especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds – often have the most negative experiences. They come under pressure to share nude images at a younger age and face more damaging consequences if their images are shared widely.

One London youth worker said of the worrying trend: ‘It is just part of their existence... it is young people’s culture.’ The survey was carried out by the research agency Revealing Reality.

Some 34 per cent of girls and 9 per cent of boys said they were first asked to send a nude snap aged 13 or younger.

Damon De Ionno, of Revealing Reality, said: ‘Over the last few years, we have seen a huge growth in nude image-sharing among young people.’