Young boys are exposed to a new type of sexual crime where the motive is not primarily sexual but financial, warns the children’s rights organization Ecpat.
They are tricked into sending nude photos and then pressured for money so that the photos will not be spread.
Since Ecpat in 2022 noticed an increase in the number of children contacting their helpline and telling about similar experiences, the organization decided to delve into the subject.
The deepening resulted in the study “Then ‘she’ took a screen and everything began”, which is based on both girls’ and boys’ stories. It shows that boys are particularly vulnerable to crime – and that the number of cases has increased in recent years.
– We see that there is a system behind this extortion. That perpetrators pretending to be a young girl or woman get boys to send nude pictures. As soon as the picture arrives, it is used to pressure them for money, says Sophie Josephson, program manager Ecpat, to TV4 Nyheterna and continues:
– The primary purpose here is the money, not getting the boy to send nude pictures.
Mainly boys are affected
That mainly boys are affected is because they are easier prey than girls, says Anna Karin Hildingson Boqvist, Ecpat’s general secretary, who links it to male norms.
– A boy who receives a nude picture from a girl or a woman should appreciate it and send a picture back, she says.
– Girls are also exposed, but then the approach looks different. Rather, they are pressured into more nude pictures, she continues.
The material is still being distributed
The perpetrators, who often pretend to be a girl of the same age, initiate contact with the boys, sometimes as young as 10, via one of the major social media platforms.
They send nude photos to the boys early on and encourage them to do the same. Once the boys have been persuaded, often after nagging, the situation quickly escalates.
The perpetrators pressure the boys for money – in many cases thousands of kroner – and threaten to spread the material further if they do not pay.
Regardless of whether the boys pay or not, the material almost always ends up being spread.
Anna Karin Hildingson Boqvist urges parents to talk to their children about the risks that exist online, especially if the children are boys.