New "Revenge Porn" Law Passed in Massachusetts
On June 20, 2024, Governor Maura T. Healey signed into law the Act to Prevent Abuse and Exploitation. The Children’s Advocacy Center of Suffolk County (CAC) is grateful for legislators' necessary efforts towards abuse and exploitation prevention, strengthening protections for survivors, and encouraging media literacy to help educate our youth on using the internet safely and responsibly.
The Act to Prevent Abuse and Exploitation establishes and extends numerous safeguards for survivors, including but not limited to, prohibiting image-based sexual assault (“revenge porn” and/or “computer-generated images” also known as “deepfakes”), increasing the fines for criminal harassment convictions, and including “coercive control” within the definition of “abuse” under Chapter 209A – Massachusetts’s abuse prevention law. The Act to Prevent Abuse and Exploitation also emphasizes and encourages the need for age-appropriate internet safety training throughout all stages of youth. We know technology can certainly create and strengthen positive, healthy relationships, but lack of proper internet safety education and boundary setting can turn harmful quickly.
According to Thorn, an innovative technology non-profit creating programs to combat child sexual abuse, "The dissemination of [nude] images [of youth] poses significant risks to the depicted minors and can be used as a tool for grooming other minors.” And, as the new legislation outlines, even though a person might have taken a photo or video of themselves initially, that does not give others permission to distribute it or threaten to share it. Adults who share or threaten to share a youth's image will be charged with felony possession and/or distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Youth who share another youth's image may also be charged, though not under the same section as adults, depending on the facts and seriousness of the offense.
Thorn’s 2022 Report on Youth Perspectives on Online Spaces discovered a third of minors reported engaging in some form of online sexual interaction. Roughly 1 in 7 minors report sharing their own self-generated CSAM, with reports of children as young as 9 sharing nude images. According to the report, one in five youth were asked to send a nude image, one in four received sexual messages, and 32% of teenagers perceived normalcy in peers participating in nude image-sharing behaviors. Nearly one in five children ages 9-17 say they have been shown someone else’s nudes without the consent of the person in the image; the Act to Prevent Abuse and Exploitation aims to safeguard children from becoming victims of non-consensual nude image-sharing or CSAM.
In addition to Thorn’s research and reporting, the CAC is also taking a close look at data and trends here in Suffolk County. The CAC's Support to End Exploitation Now (SEEN) program is a nationally recognized model preventing and responding to child trafficking and sexual exploitation. SEEN is partnered with over 35 agencies, private and public, and coordinates a multi-disciplinary response to commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). In 2023, SEEN received 285 sexual exploitation referrals - a record-breaking number. Of those 285 referrals, 31% involved grooming or sexually explicit communication between a child and alleged offender and 32% involved the exchange of sexually explicit photos or videos. Our data shows Snapchat as the most common app used by youth who have been referred to SEEN. SEEN data also shows the most common types of online exchanges include those with an adult or unknown person and CSAM taken and/or shared without knowledge or consent.
The CAC has a dedicated Training & Outreach team working tirelessly on providing age-appropriate internet safety training for youth in addition to educating Suffolk County on identifying and responding to child abuse. The CAC and the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office collaborate to offer "Stop, Block, Talk: Empowering Youth and Families to Stay Safe Online," a proactive and memorable approach to using websites, apps, and videogames in the smartest and safest way possible. The CAC also offers "Exploitation in the Virtual World," a training catered towards professionals that provides insight on how abusers take advantage of risky behaviors such as sexting or non-consensual image-sharing, recognizing online grooming and sextortion, and what to do if a child experiences online exploitation. “Stop, Block, Talk,” “Exploitation in the Virtual World,” and other child safety trainings we offer can be requested here. Most importantly, we are featuring “Keeping Your Child Safe Online” as part of our Parents Preventing Child Abuse webinar series.
The "Keeping Your Child Safe Online" webinar is geared towards adults and will help parents and caregivers learn how perpetrators take advantage of youth online, how to recognize if your child may be experiencing online exploitation, and concrete tips for talking with your child about their online activities. The webinar will take place on Wednesday, August 7, from 12-1PM. You can register for this highly anticipated webinar here.
Anyone who suspects a child is being abused, neglected, or exploited can and should file a 51A Report with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF). Professionals designated as mandated reporters are required by law to do so. You do not need to be certain or know all the facts about a situation to make a report. The DCF Hotline is always available, even on weekends and holidays, at 1-800-792-5200.
The CAC looks forward to continuing our awareness-raising community outreach and trainings even more now that our legislators have taken the necessary steps towards additional survivor protection, especially for our youth attempting to navigate the online world and all the harm or healthy connections technology can bring.
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Mass.gov. Governor Healey Signs Bill Banning Revenge Porn, Expanding Protections Against Abuse and Exploitation. www.mass.gov/news/governor-hea.... Accessed 07/19/24.
Thorn. Topic Overview, Sexting and nonconsensual sharing. www.thorn.org/research/sexting.... Accessed 07/19/24.
Thorn. Youth Perspectives on Online Safety, 2022: an Annual Report of Youth Attitudes and Experiences. https://info.thorn.org/hubfs/Research/22_YouthMonitoring_Report.pdf. Accessed 07/19/24.