Help for young people & children who’ve been victims of sextortion

What can you do if someone is blackmailing or extorting you for nudes or sexual images online? 

If someone is threatening you by demanding nudes or sexual images or videos and wants you to pay money to stop, this can be very worrying. It is a crime for people to blackmail or threaten you in this way and it’s wrong. This type of behaviour can be called ‘sextortion’ or being ‘sexually coerced’. You are not alone in this situation, and you are not to blame. While it can feel very upsetting, organisations like the IWF and others are here to help.

We recommend talking to a trusted adult. This might be a parent, carer or teacher at school. Talking to someone you trust will help you understand the situation and put steps in place to make things better. There’s a guidance page for parents and carers here.

Here are some helpful steps to follow:

1. Report what has happened. You can do this by contacting your local police on 101 or making a report to the National Crime Agency’s CEOP Safety Centre, where a Child Protection Advisor will make sure you get the help you need. Find out more about how CEOP can help you here. Always call 999 if you are in immediate danger.
2. If you’re not ready to make a report to the police or feel worried about what might happen, you can speak to understanding and non-judgemental people at Childline. You don’t need to give your name or details.
3. If you have copies of the images, videos, or links to the website where images or videos may be shown, you can use an online tool called Report Remove. Report Remove is here to help young people, under 18, in the UK to confidentially report sexual images and videos of themselves and the IWF will then try to have them removed from the internet. Once you’ve used Report Remove, you will also be able to talk to a trained Childline counsellor, who will have provided support to other children and young people in the same situation. Check out the Report Remove video above.
4. We advise stopping all contact with anyone who is trying to blackmail or threaten. Do not share any more images or videos or pay any money of any sort (Bitcoin, cash transfer etc). If you have been communicating on an app, there should be in-built tools to block and report the user. You can find helpful information on how to block and report people on apps and social media here.
5. Finally, remember - this is not your fault. The person trying to blackmail or sexually extort you is the one who is in the wrong. Lots of other young people have been in a similar situation. If you're feeling upset and need to talk to someone, you can get in touch with Childline.