The study has shown that children and young people send and receive sexual content (sexting) from people they know and from strangers. Nearly 40% of young people have received sexual content, about 10% of students send their own sexual content, and some of them do so persuaded by another person, because of blackmail or a threat.
Sexting, sexual harassment and violence have become a part of many young people’s lives in Croatia, said Lucija Vejmelka, the research leader and professor at the Social Work Study Centre of Zagreb’s Faculty of Law.
Sexual behaviour still taboo
“Sexual behaviour is still taboo, so children and young people don’t turn to adults when they have a problem, while exposure to sexual harassment has short-term and long-term consequences for the victim. High exposure to violence can seemingly normalize such behaviour, which increases peer pressure and makes intervention more difficult”, warned Vejmelka.
Young people are most often exposed to derogatory expressions and descriptions, sexual jokes and sexual jokes and comments about another person getting likes.
Occasionally, they are witness to sexual photos of persons their age being shared, websites or groups on social networks being created for sexual content or gossiping, and photos or videos of sexual intercourse of someone they know being shared, of which only 20% of them spoke up.
Girls experience sexual harassment more often, while young people in general most often experience gossips and lies about their own sexual behaviour.
The study was conducted by the Safer Internet Centre (CSI), with the support of A1 Hrvatska, and 2,016 students of the first and third year of secondary schools across Croatia took part.
The results were presented as part of an event marking Safer Internet Day, and the study was also carried out in Denmark, Hungary and the United Kingdom.
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