Before you start

Group agreement

Introduction: Definition

5. Ask students what they understand by the term 'sexting'?

6. Take answers from volunteers. 

Teaching tip: Students need to feel safe and supported in lessons on sensitive topics such as this. They need to know that they will never be called upon to answer questions and that you will only ever ask for volunteers for contributions.

5.  Say:

"'Sexting refers to using a mobile phone or the internet to take, ask for, receive, send or share intimate text, photos or videos including where someone is naked, partly naked, posing sexually or doing a sexual act. These are sometimes known as 'nudes', 'sexy pics' or 'noodz' or some of the words that you have already said. They are also known in legal terms as sexually explicit images or messages, or intimate images."

Thumb quiz: Legal, not sure, illegal

6. Teaching strategy: Thumbs up/down quiz. Ask students to indicate their answers:

   • thumbs up = legal

   • thumbs down = illegal

   • thumbs sideways = not sure.

7. Read and display the following scenarios on the board (See To send or not to send PP_teacher resource - slides 7-18). 

Teaching tip: The language in the following scenarios deliberately limits the use of gender pronouns in order to avoid gender stereotyping who sends/shares images and to be inclusive of gender and sexual diversity. Students can make their own decisions about the gender of the individuals in the scenarios. 

• An 18 year old girl sends a naked image of herself to an 18 year old guy she likes.

(Legal, but if he didn't want this, it might be sexual harassment depending on circumstances.)

• A 20 year old girl sends a naked image of themselves to their 21 year old partner

(Legal)

• A 16 year old consensually sends a nude to their 16 year old partner.

(Despite being of legal age to have sex, and legal under WA laws, this is illegal under federal laws which override state laws. If a person under 18 takes a naked picture of themselves, it can be considered creating child exploitation material. Sending it to a partner can be considered distributing child exploitation material. These laws are designed to protect children from exploitation however, young people consensually sharing images can still be prosecuted under these laws.)

• A 21 year old shares the image of their partner with several of their friends.

(Illegal if they did not ask for their partner's consent to share the images.)

• A teacher 'follows' students on Instagram and make personal remarks.

(Legal but breaches professional conduct. Guidelines for the Use of Social Media - The Department of Education.)

• After breaking up with their 16 year old partner, a 17 year old threatens to send an intimate image of them to their mates.

(Illegal to threaten to send an intimate image (WA law) and illegal to send an intimate image of a person under 18 years of age (Commonwealth law).

Laugh and learn video - sexting

8. Watch Laugh and learn - sexting (2min 12sec). 

Teaching tip: CaLD students and students with special needs could potentially be confused between pimple popping and sexting. It is important for teachers to decide the suitability of this content for their students and to address any misconceptions that may arise.

9.  Ask:

(Non-consensual sexting is disrespectful, harassment and against the law; issues can follow you the rest of your life - whether you send, receive or share an intimate picture; it is easy to lose control over who can see an image once it is sent; there are things you can do if you receive an unwanted sext.)

To send or not to send?

10. As a whole class create a 'choose your own adventure' style flow chart using sticky notes. This can be created on the floor, on desks pushed together, on a wall or a window. 

Teaching tip: This activity should not be conducted in small groups unless there are enough adults to facilitate each group. This is vital to ensure students adhere to the group agreement (e.g. no sharing personal stories). Ensure all adults facilitating groups are familiar with protective interrupting techniques and how to deal with disclosures. 

11. Provide each students with a small stack of sticky notes (or scrap paper).

12. Guide students through the following steps either using the To send or not to send PP_teacher resource (Slide 20-33) or by reading the instructions aloud.

13.  Say: 

" Describe a scenario in which a person might be asked for a nude. This is to be a hypothetical situation so no names of people we know and no personal stories."

 Teaching tip: It is important to remember that students in the class are likely to have experienced similar situations either directly or indirectly and it is vital for everyone to maintain confidentiality and not to disclose personal stories of their own or others. Offer students the opportunity to talk to you (or another trusted adult) in private if they have any concerns they would like to raise. The question box is another way of offering students opportunities to raise issues privately. Students can indicate that they would like time with you, the school counsellor/nurse by placing a note in the question box and including their name on the note.

 Discuss some of the potential stereotypes:

14. Write down the scenario and place it on the floor/wall where you will be displaying the 'choose your own adventure' flow chart.

15.  Say:

"What might person B's response to this request be? Write it down on your sticky note and place it along side the scenario to show the different ways the conversation might develop."

 Ask:

16.  Ask:

(anger, humour, pressure, respects answer and doesn't ask again, cuts off conversation, dumps person B, asks for more, call person B names for either sending it or not sending it)

17. Have the students continue the potential responses along the 'choose your own adventure' path.

18.  Ask:

(May feel regret for sending it; may feel mortified if it gets shared with others; may feel OK about sending it; may feel happy/sexy/flirty/etc sending it; may feel scared; etc)

(Friends/colleagues might judge you; may end the relationship; may start a romantic/sexual relationship; may bring person A and B closer; may cause person A and B to fall out; excluded from friends; family fall out; etc)

(Is it ethical to ask for a nude or should you wait to be asked? Is it ethical to assume a partner would be OK receiving a nude image? If someone has shared nudes with lots of other people, is it OK to share the image? What if there is a large gap in the age of the people sexting? etc)

What the law says

19. Have students read the Youth Law Australia - Sexting webpage (https://yla.org.au/wa/topics/internet-phones-and-technology/sexting-laws/) . This could be as a whole class, on individual devices or printed copies. 

 Teaching tip: Ensure that the Youth Law Australia website is set to 'Showing laws for WA' so that the information displayed is accurate for WA. 

19. Say:

"It is against the law for ANY person to take, keep or share intimate images when it involves someone under 18.  It is against the law to share or threaten to share an intimate image of a person of ANY age without their consent. No doubt there are many people - adults and young people alike - who are unaware of these laws. Why do you think not knowing this information could be very dangerous for some people?"

20.  Ask: 

(If under 18, could be charged with creating/distributing child exploitation material; could be put on child sex offenders register; could impact future employment and housing options; could be fined or imprisoned; could be no legal consequences; may be completely legal; etc)

(Any that involve people under 18. Any that involve harassment)

(It is impossible to tell. Laws are designed to protect young people from exploitation but the laws are still written in such a way that young people can potentially be charged. The aws place the emphasis on non-consensual sharing of images, pressure, harassment and 'sextortion' - threatening to share images)

Where to go for help

21. View eSafety what is image-based abuse video (2 min 30 sec)

22.  Ask:

(Tell a trusted adult, block the person on social media, report it on the eSafety site, contact Headspace, Kidshelpline, a school counsellor)

23. Show students the eSafety Commissioner website and go through the steps of 'What to do?' 

24.  Ask:

 Teaching tip: It is important to keep questions 'a step removed'. Asking students what they would recommend to a friend allows them to think of useful strategies for themselves without having to say, 'I would do this' which could make them feel vulnerable and/or potentially disclose personal information. 

Reflection

25.  Ask students to share with another person:

Take home message

26. Remind students of the take home messages:

Unwanted sexting is disrespectful, harassment and against the law.

Sharing, or threatening to share, another person's sext/nude without their consent is image-based abuse and is against the law.. 

There are actions that can be taken and support available if you receive an inappropriate text messages and/or pictures or if your pictures are shared without your consent.

Sending sexts/nudes can have emotional, social, ethical and legal consequences.

It is easy to lose control over who sees a sext/nude.

It is important to think about potential consequences when making decisions about sexting. 

Take home activity

1. Ensure students have internet access at home to access the Youth Law Australia - Sexting website or provide each student with the handout Western Australia's new intimate intimate laws: Frequently asked questions. 

2. Give each student the Take home activity sheet: Sexting - To send or not to send?

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