Girls under 13 are under increasing pressure to share nude photos with classmates

More than a third said they were asked to send a nude picture when they were 13 or younger, the poll showed – which found girls from disadvantaged backgrounds often had the most negative experiences

Girls under the age of 13 are facing increasing pressure to send nude photos to their classmates, a survey found.

The survey of more than 5,000 students found that six out of 10 girls and three out of 10 boys had been asked by someone else to share a nude.

And more than half of the girls and almost a third of the boys said they were sent a nude or almost nude picture.

The research of Not just flirtingin collaboration with the PHSE Association, also found that over a third of the girls surveyed were asked to send a nude picture when they were 13 years old or younger.

Of those who have ever been sent a nude or nearly nude picture or video, 82% said it was usually or always via Snapchat.

The study, reported by the Daily Mailfound that girls from disadvantaged backgrounds often have the most negative experiences.

Damon de Ionno, Managing Director of Revealing Reality, said: “Across these research projects, we have seen firsthand, among research participants, a tremendous growth in the sharing of nude images among young people.

“Image sharing per se was not the focus of this work.

“But we found mounting evidence that not only was it widespread, but it could also have negative consequences — and that these appeared to disproportionately hit certain groups, particularly girls from disadvantaged backgrounds.”

Following the survey, the PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) Association released new lesson plans aimed at addressing feelings related to sharing nudes.

Mr de Ionno added: “For this study, we specifically wanted to examine whether, far from being a situation that disproportionately affects relatively privileged children, the experiences of picture-sharing are actually worse for more disadvantaged children.

“And that while in some cases sharing nude pictures can be empowering or part of flirting, in many cases it can lead to or mask experiences or outcomes that aren’t just harmless fun.”

The results come from a separate survey by the charity Girlguiding, which found that nearly 80% of young women and girls were victims of cyberbullying in the year to February 2022.

It found that about one in five had received unsolicited explicit images and been pressured into sharing nude footage.

The survey also found that a third had experienced sexual harassment online and three quarters of the 2,000 women aged 13 to 21 felt anxious, depressed and lacking in confidence.