#HowWouldUFeel

End the culture of forwarding intimate images

Almost half of youth who have sent a sext (nude or semi-nude photo) say that the recipient then forwarded that image and shared it with other people.

This campaign is intended to discourage the common “culture of sharing” among youth where intimate images are forwarded on to other people. Most sexting related campaigns and messages focus on the initial sender of the sext, ignoring the point where the most harm is done – when sexts are forwarded without the original sender’s consent.

Taking and sending sexts is a risky behaviour in itself, but there is never an excuse to share or forward a sext of someone else.

These videos challenge the four common excuses used by youth to justify sharing other peoples’ sexts.

• Justifying the action: “You Should Be Thanking Me”
• Denying the harm: “Everybody Does It"
• Shifting responsibility: “I’m Just the Messenger”.
• Blaming the victim: “It’s Your Fault for Sending It in the First Place”

Created in partnership with MediaSmarts, these resources help end the culture of sharing and forwarding intimate images of other people

For parents

We’ve created this guide to help parents and guardians start the conversation around sexting and healthy relationships, and help youth understand that forwarding a sext can do a lot of harm. Download guide.

For youth

Whether you call them sexts, nudes, naked selfies or just pics, if you receive an intimate image like this, it’s your job to make the right choice about the sender’s privacy. There is no excuse to forward a sext that someone sent you. Download tip sheet.

For educators

In this lesson and accompanying videos, students learn about the “sneaky excuses” that can convince us to do things that we know are wrong - like forwarding an intimate image of someone else. The videos challenge the excuses used to justify sharing a sext without the consent of the original sender. Download lesson plan.

For community leaders

This guide for community leaders, school resource officers and peer facilitators includes a workshop to help reinforce the message that there is never an excuse to share or forward a sext of someone else without their consent. Download guide.

The research

The #howwouldUfeel videos and resources are based on key findings from the MediaSmarts research, Non-Consensual Sharing of Sexts: Behaviours and Attitudes of Canadian Youth. Download infographic.