More teenage boys convicted as intimate images are shared online

A young woman who says private photos of her in underwear were shared online felt powerless and sick, DR reports, as the number of teenage boys convicted of sexual offences has risen over the past decade.

Freja, whose name DR has changed to protect her, was on holiday when she received around 100 Snapchat requests from people asking for nude photos. One comment called her a “cheap whore”. She did not know the people contacting her, but persuaded one to say where they had found her profile.

Her name and social media profiles had been posted in a Telegram group. The profile picture showed her bottom, followed by revealing photos of her in underwear that were meant to be private. She was between 14 and 16 when the pictures were taken.

“I felt like throwing up,” Freja said. She described feeling ashamed and as though her personal boundaries had been violated, while being unable to stop what was happening.

Intimate images often shared by peers

Almost one in 200 boys has been convicted of a sexual offence by the age of 18, figures from Statistics Denmark show. The number of convictions has risen sharply over the past 10 years.

Many cases involve indecency offences. Save the Children Denmark also hears from children and young people about digital abuse. Girls are particularly likely to have intimate or nude images shared, while boys are more often blackmailed with intimate images of themselves, said psychologist Mia Lind Winther, an expert on digital abuse at the organisation.

An organisation survey found that images are often shared by children and young people who know the person depicted. The impact can be especially damaging when the person sharing the images is part of the victim’s social circle, Winther said, affecting trust and a sense of safety. Some young people fear how many people have seen them partly dressed or naked and lose confidence about going to school.

Freja suspects her former boyfriend

Freja suspects that an ex-boyfriend gained access to the private images and was behind the harassment. People in the Telegram group were falsely told to contact her to get nude pictures. The case has been reported to the police.

Freja said she was shaking, her heart was racing, and she struggled to sleep and eat. She kept wondering what he might do next and said she felt helpless.

Save the Children Denmark says intimate images are shared both to humiliate or harass and, in some cases, without malicious intent or an understanding of the law. Winther said some boys do not realise they may be breaking the law until they speak with police. Learning that they could have violated criminal law and receive a mark on their child-protection record can come as a shock and affect their sense of self and adult life, she said.

Winther urged adults to take a greater interest in what children and young people do on social media, saying they often lack knowledge of what is legal online.

It has been several years since Freja’s pictures were shared. She said the experience made her cautious in new relationships. When she is intimate with her boyfriend, they leave their phones elsewhere in the room, and he does not take his phone into the bathroom when she is showering.

Although her feelings of paranoia have eased, they can return. Freja said it remains difficult to trust new people, even though she knows it is rare for someone to misuse her trust in this way. She said she is gradually regaining trust and does not want fear to prevent her from having an honest and trusting relationship.

DR said it anonymised Freja because she is a young person whose intimate images were shared and the incident should not follow her into adulthood. The broadcaster said it had reviewed documentation about the case and correspondence with the police and her lawyer.