Inappropriate photos can range from a hiked-up skirt to pictures of genitals. But it was not necessarily the schoolgirl herself who sent them out. Famous human rights activist Kamala Aghadaze spoke to Minval.az, commenting on the last week’s report of a 13-year-old girl in Sumgayit being blackmailed for circulating inappropriate photos of herself on social media. The girl’s mother filed a complaint with the Sumgayit Police Department and the incident is being investigated.
“At this age, a child usually has no idea what they are doing; they trust both their peers and older people. But this trust is often misplaced, which is why these lewd pictures end up on the Internet. The worst thing is that these pictures are then used by pedophiles and crooks who can easily find the address and the phone number and begin to blackmail the child to extort money from them, and not a small amount of money, I should point out. And where does the child get the money from? They are afraid of the publicity, they torment themselves, they go to steal from their parents or their peers. And if no such opportunity presents itself, the child steps either into the noose or off the ledge. The only way out in this situation is to tell everything to the parents, who, in turn, must be sympathetic to the problem. Parents must support their child in any case,” she said.
However, the human rights activist could not say exactly what kind of photos were involved, or how the blackmailer got hold of them.
“It is possible that the girl did not send the pictures herself; someone could have done it out of revenge or out of envy. For example, a classmate took pictures in the locker room in gym class or in the bathroom, for example. Again, so far, we do not know what really happened. God willing, the perpetrator will be identified and punished. But can all children tell their parents about their problem? Of course not. But they should be able to do that, because if there is no support at home, the child becomes an outcast and goes to the extreme measures I have mentioned. It is necessary to listen, to understand and to forgive, so that a fragile life is not cut short, so that the trust the child has in their parents is not betrayed. When I was 13, we rode bikes, fought with boys, played volleyball, only “douchebags”, as they were called contemptuously by their peers, would look under girls’ skirts. Now the times are completely different, because of the easy availability of information, people have become angrier, more cynical, they are so eager to demonstrate their “righteousness”, to stone those who wear shorts. Meanwhile, in our own country, our own citizen cynically blackmails a child on the Internet,” Aghazade said.
Guli Ahmadov, an IT specialist and Baktelecom employee, told Minval that any gadget can be accessed by hacking into it with spyware.
“Not only do these apps can crack account passwords, personal accounts, and Google cloud storage, but they can also listen in on calls, intercept incoming texts, and monitor all the hacked gadget’s owner’s Internet activity. The hacker can download anything they want from that gadget, from photos to private messages, voice and video files,” the expert says.
Sexting is what they call correspondence that involves an exchange of intimate photos and explicit messages. Sometimes it is only flirting, and sometimes it turns into a text imitation of a full-fledged sexual act. Obviously, none of us are saints, and sexting is the norm for so many couples today. But this is only normal if we are talking about adults, self-sufficient, responsible for themselves and their actions. But if such “communication” occurs between teenagers, then everything becomes much more complicated: ambitions, emotions, unstable hormonal balance, and so on. And if even an adult sometimes misuses the information they receive, what is there to say about a teenager?
Interestingly, in some countries sexting among minors is prohibited by law. For example, in Australia, a citizen under the age of 18 is not allowed to take intimate pictures, send and ask for them, and if they are over 10 years old, they can be prosecuted for it. Some American states also have punishment for sexting. In Arizona, for example, a minor who sends intimate photos and receives them faces a $500 fine or a 30-day arrest. In Florida, minors sending and possessing nudes the first time is punishable by community service or a fine. And if they are caught doing the same thing again, they will face criminal charges. In Canada, sending and receiving intimate pictures by minors is considered child pornography.
In our country, people prefer not to talk about sexting openly, although the media and social networks sometimes report this kind of news. People of various age groups are affected. It is clear that such stories get a lot of attention on social media. Moreover, among those who engage in these heated discussions, there are those who blame the women for what happened, thus defending the blackmailers: “You should not have sent pictures of your private parts to just anyone.”
On the one hand, there is some truth to these words, because the fairer sex is often “tricked” by the assurances of “eternal love” and fall for this kind of dirty bait. But on the other hand, it is always against the law to distribute these photographs and use them for blackmail.
Fuad Ismayilov, head of the Mental Health Center, said in his commentary to Minval that the Internet is swarming with inadequate people and that perverts of all kinds are not uncommon on the Internet.
“How do underage girls end up in these situations? Not necessarily through some kind of ‘love’ correspondence, as most people think after reading this kind of news. Girls are different, no matter what society they were raised in. Some may be self-conscious about their bodies, while others may brag. Often girls are influenced by older guys who, knowing their naivety, manipulate them: ‘Show me your beach pictures, in a swimsuit.’ And after each photo is sent, she gets head-turning praise and admiration. Sometimes the manipulators try to trick a girl, daring her to show more. Once a girl gets excited and crosses the line, she is on the hook. She can be controlled now,” Fuad Ismayilov explained.
Teenage girls may send intimate pictures without seeing the danger. Even embarrassed, they may succumb to the persuasion of guys who convince them that “it’s not a big deal” or “it’s just a gift for him”. By doing so, the guy lures the girl into his evil nets, after all, she is not aware that he may very well forward her picture to all his friends and win a bet, for example.
But let’s not rush to judgement: if even adults often find themselves in embarrassing situations, can we blame children? Besides, today every child, every teenager has a smartphone, the habit of taking pictures and videos of everything around them (sometimes at the most inopportune moments) has already become the norm. Blackmailing with inappropriate photos can be out of revenge, for a bet, for financial and other incentives promised by someone if …
“So, a child is in a difficult situation, and it does not matter whether they sent their photos willingly or became the victim of unscrupulous ‘friends’ or peers who took them in secret, in the bathroom, in the locker room, in the shower: they must tell their parents everything immediately, without negotiating with the blackmailer, never giving in to the blackmailer’s demands. This is important. And the parents must act wisely, they must become their child’s rock, support them, prove their right to be called a friend. The parents must also immediately contact the law enforcement agencies, so that the blackmailer is dealt with properly. It is true that our society still partially lives by a system of conventions, saying it is better not to wash dirty linen in public, not to ‘expose’ the child to the police. That is the way a blackmail victim thinks, too, and that is primarily the way the blackmailer reasons. Yes, the law prescribes punishment for such actions, but the blackmailer knows that not everyone will tell adults about their ‘shameful’ problem, and even if they do, not every parent will support them. Herein lies the root of the evil,” said the psychiatrist.
Parents, Ismayilov said, should be friends to their children and not just feed and dress them. The role of the parent is to protect the child, to show that they are always at his or her side and are ready to face difficulties together.
They absolutely cannot blame, scold or shame a child in this situation, otherwise the child will withdraw into themselves. You should say right away that you will not scold them “even if…” and list possible situations, including sexting. The child can ask about the meaning of the word, and then, by explaining it, the parent can help him or her talk about the problem. And the child, in turn, will trust the parent.
There are very few articles in criminal law that would qualify sexting correctly. The Criminal Code has only Articles 148-1 (insult and slander using fake Internet profiles) and 171-1 (distribution of child pornography), which can somehow fit the above-mentioned offenses. By the way, the latter is punishable by up to 5 years in prison, and up to 8 years for repeated offense and more serious consequences. Given that sexting has become a pressing problem among schoolchildren in Azerbaijan, it is imperative that we study this negative trend in detail and make appropriate changes to the legislation and increase punitive action. In parallel, it is necessary to introduce in schools a subject that would help children form principles of protection and develop their legal literacy.
Yana Madatova
This article was written with the financial support of the Media Development Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan as part of the Civil Society, Building the Rule of Law project.
Translated from Minval.az
