When sexting conflicts with child sexual abuse material: the legal and social consequences for children

Abstract

When children participate in online sexual behaviour, such as ‘sexting’, there can be a range of legal and social consequences. Criminal law in Australia does not consistently address sexting, which means that in some jurisdictions, children who participate in sexting can be liable for offences related to child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Children who are 16 or 17 years old have reached the age to consent to sexual activity, yet the law, in many jurisdictions, does not allow them to participate in sexting. This paper seeks to reconceptualise sexting among older children as a separate practice to possessing and/or distributing CSAM. It explores the socio-legal considerations which arise when older children possess and share intimate online material, including how the age of consent to sexual activity is relevant to their participation in sexting.

Keywords:

• child exploitation material
• child pornography
• child sexual abuse material
• consent
• criminal law
• sexting
• youth

Ethical standards

Declarations of conflicts of interest

Dominique Moritz has declared no conflicts of interest Larissa S. Christensen has declared no conflicts of interest.

Ethics approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Notes

1 Dan Jerker B Svantesson, ‘“Sexting” and the Law – How Australia Regulates Electronic Communication of Non-professional Sexual Content’ (2011) 22 Bond Law Review 41.

2 Karen Cooper and others, ‘Adolescents and Self-taken Sexual Images: A Review of the Literature’ (2016) 55 Computers in Human Behavior 706, 713; Timothy H Yeung and others, ‘Prevalence, Correlates and Attitudes Towards Sexting among Young People in Melbourne, Australia’ (2014) 11(4) Sexual Health 332, 333.

3 Clara R Jørgensen and others, ‘Young People’s Views on Sexting Education and Support Needs: Findings and Recommendations from a UK-based Study’ (2019) 19(1) Sex Education 25, 31; Michel Walrave, Wannes Heirman and Lara Hallam, ‘Under Pressure to Sext? Applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour to Adolescent Sexting’ (2014) 33(1) Behaviour & Information 86, 87.

4 See, eg, Murray Lee and Thomas Crofts, ‘Gender, Pressure, Coercion and Pleasure: Untangling Motivations for Sexting between Young People’ (2015) 55 British Journal of Criminology 454, 455.

5 See, generally, Svantesson (n 1).

6 R v Symons (2018) 130 SASR 503, 506 (Kourakis CJ).

7 Kimberly J Mitchell and others, ‘Prevalence and Characteristics of Youth Sexting: A National Study’ (2012) 129(1) Pediatrics 13, 17.

8 See, eg, Anastasia Powell, ‘Configuring Consent: Emerging Technologies, Unauthorized Sexual Images and Sexual Assault’ (2010) 43(1) Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology 76, 84.

9 Jonathan Clough, ‘Lawful Acts, Unlawful Images: The Problematic Definition of Child Pornography’ (2012) 38 Monash University Law Review 213, 234.

10 Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) ss 273.5, 273.6, 273.7; Crimes Act 1900 (ACT) ss 64, 64A, 65; Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) s 91G-H; Criminal Code Act 1983 (NT) ss 125B-C, 125E; Criminal Code 1899 (Qld) ss 228A-DA; Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA) ss 63, 63A-B; Criminal Code Act 1924 (Tas) ss 130, 130A-D; Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) ss 51B-H; Criminal Code Act Compilation Act 1913 (WA) ss 217–20.

11 See, eg, Queensland, Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, 24 November 2004, 3741 (Rodney John Welford, Attorney-General).

12 Murray Lee and others, Sexting and Young People (Criminology Research Grant 2015) 9.

13 Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council, Classification of Child Exploitation Material for Sentencing Purposes Consultation Paper (Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council 2017) 17.

14 Clough (n 9) 214.

15 Melissa R Lorang, Dale E McNiel and Renée L Binder, ‘Minors and Sexting: Legal Implications’ (2016) 44(1) The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 73.

16 Jose R Agustina and Esperanza L Gómez-Durán, ‘Sexting: Research Criteria of a Globalized Social Phenomenon’ (2012) 41 Archives of Sexual Behavior 1325.

17 Lorang, McNiel and Binder (n 15) 73.

18 Susanne Baumgartner and others, ‘Does Country Context Matter? Investigating the Predictors of Teen Sexting across Europe’ (2014) 34 Computers in Human Behaviour 157, 167.

19 Amanda Lenhart, Teens and Sexting (Pew Internet & American Life Project 2009) 5.

20 Lee and others (n 12) 22.

21 Lee and others (n 12) 21.

22 Lorang, McNiel and Binder (n 15) 73.

23 Crimes Act 1900 (ACT) s 64(5) (definition of ‘child exploitation material’); Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) s 91FB (definition of ‘child abuse material’); Criminal Code Act 1983 (NT) s 125A; Criminal Code 1899 (Qld) s 207A; Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA) s 62; Criminal Code Act 1924 (Tas) s 1A; Criminal Code Act Compilation Act 1913 (WA) s 217A; Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) s 473.1.

24 David Plater, ‘“Setting the Boundaries of Acceptable Behaviour?” South Australia’s Latest Legislative Response to Revenge Pornography’ (2016) 2 University of South Australia Student Law Review 77, 85.

25 Summary Offences Act 1953 (SA) s 26C.

26 Summary Offences (Filming and Sexting Offences) Amendment Act 2016 (SA).

27 South Australia, Parliamentary Debates, House of Assembly, 9 March 2016, 4602 (John Rau).

28 Summary Offences Act 1953 (SA) s 26B.

29 Summary Offences Act 1953 (SA) s 26C.

30 Summary Offences Act 1953 (SA) s 26D.

31 Summary Offences Act 1953 (SA) s 26DA.

32 Pooja Chaudhary and others, ‘Sexting and Mental Health: A School-based Longitudinal Study among Youth in Texas’ (2017) 8(1) Journal of Applied Research on Children 1, 8.

33 Panagiota Korenis and Stephen B Billick, ‘Forensic Implications: Adolescent Sexting and Cyberbullying’ (2014) 85 Psychiatric Quarterly 97, 99.

34 Abigail M Judge, ‘“Sexting” among US Adolescents: Psychological and Legal Perspectives’ (2012) 20(2) Harvard Review of Psychiatry 86, 92; Katlin J Rhyner, Carolyn A Uhl and Cheryl A Terrance, ‘Are Teens Being Unfairly Punished? Applying the Dual Systems Model of Adolescent Risk-taking to Sexting among Adolescents’ (2018) 18(1) Youth Justice 52, 54.

35 Randi Kaye, ‘How a Cell Phone Picture Led to Girl’s Suicide’ CNN (7 October 2010).

36 Deborah Gordon-Messer and others, ‘Sexting among Young Adults’ (2012) 52(3) Journal of Adolescent Health 301, 307.

37 Mitchell and others (n 7) 17.

38 Lee and Crofts (n 4) 455.

39 Lee and Crofts (n 4) 458.

40 Julia R Lippman and Scott W Campbell, ‘Damned if You Do, Damned if You Don’t… If You’re a Girl: Relational and Normative Contexts of Adolescent Sexting in the United States’ (2014) 8(4) Journal of Children and Media 371, 374.

41 Jessica Ringrose and others, A Qualitative Study of Children, Young People and ‘Sexting’ (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children 2012) 54.

42 Lee and Crofts (n 4) 459.

43 Mitchell and others (n 7) 17.

44 Lee and Crofts (n 4) 463.

45 Lippman and Campbell (n 40) 383.

46 Lee and Crofts (n 4) 458.

47 Poco D Kernsmith, Bryan G Victor and Joanne P Smith-Darden, ‘Online, Offline, and Over the Line: Coercive Sexting among Adolescent Dating Partners’ (2018) 50(7) Youth & Society 891, 899.

48 Lippman and Campbell (n 40) 383.

49 Chang-Hun Lee, Stacy Moak and Jeffery T Walker, ‘Effects of Self-control, Social Control, and Social Learning on Sexting Behavior among South Korean Youths’ (2016) 48(2) Youth & Society 242, 255.

50 Joris Van Ouytsel and others, ‘The Association between Adolescent Sexting, Psychosocial Difficulties, and Risk Behavior: Integrative Review’ (2015) 31(1) The Journal of School Nursing 54, 63.

51 Christopher J Ferguson, ‘Sexting Behaviors among Young Hispanic Women: Incidence and Association with other High-risk Sexual Behaviors’ (2011) 82(3) Psychiatric Quarterly 239, 242; Eric Rice and others, ‘Sexually Explicit Cell Phone Messaging Associated with Sexual Risk among Adolescents’ (2012) 130(4) Pediatrics 667, 670.

52 Kernsmith, Victor and Smith-Darden (n 47) 899.

53 Kernsmith, Victor and Smith-Darden (n 47) 899.

54 Janis Wolak and David Finkelhor, Sexting: A Typology (Crimes Against Children Research Center 2011) 3.

55 Yeung and others (n 2) 333.

56 Lee and Crofts (n 4) 468.

57 Lee and Crofts (n 4) 456.

58 Kristian V Gibson, Sexting and the Application of the Social Exchange Theory (Doctoral Thesis 2016) 6.

59 Michael Salter, Thomas Crofts and Murray Lee, ‘Beyond Criminalisation and Responsibilisation: Sexting, Gender and Young People’ (2013) 24(3) Current Issues in Criminal Justice 301, 303.

60 Yara Barrense-Dias, Joan-Carles Suris and Christina Akre, ‘“When it Deviates it Becomes Harassment, Doesn’t it?” A Qualitative Study on the Definition of Sexting According to Adolescents and Young Adults, Parents, and Teachers’ (2019), Archives of Sexual Behavior 1, 7.

61 Yeung and others (n 2) 337.

62 Cooper and others (n 2) 713; Yeung and others (n 2) 334.

63 Jesse Fox and Bridget Potocki, ‘Technology and Culture’ in Todd C Hiestand and W Jesse Weins (eds), Sexting and Youth: A Multidisciplinary Examination of Research, Theory, and Law (Carolina Academic Press 2014) 95, 101.

64 Jørgensen and others (n 3) 31.

65 Dora Bianchi and others, ‘Sexting as the Mirror on the Wall: Body-esteem Attribution, Media Models, and Objectified-body Consciousness’ (2017) 61 Journal of Adolescence 164, 165.

66 Kath Albury and Kate Crawford, ‘Sexting, Consent and Young People’s Ethics: Beyond Megan’s Story’ (2012) 26(3) Continuum 463, 470.

67 Richard Chalfen, ‘“It’s Only a Picture”: Sexting, “Smutty” Snapshots and Felony Charges’ (2009) 24(3) Visual Studies 258, 263.

68 Walrave, Heirman and Hallam (n 3) 87.

69 Katrien Symons and others, ‘Sexting Scripts in Adolescent Relationships: Is Sexting Becoming the Norm?’ (2018) 20(1) New Media & Society 3836, 3838.

70 Kimberley W O’Connor and others, ‘Sexting Legislation in the United States and Abroad: A Call for Uniformity’ (2017) 11 International Journal of Cyber Criminology 218, 219.

71 Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) s 91HA(9)–(12).

72 Summary Offences Act 1953 (SA) s 26A.

73 Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) ss 51(A) (definition of ‘child abuse material’ and ‘material’).

74 Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) ss 51M, 51O; Explanatory Memorandum, Crimes Amendment (Sexual Offences) Bill 2016 (Vic) 66.

75 Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) s 91HA(1).

76 Crimes Act 1900 (ACT) s 65.

77 Criminal Code Act 1924 (Tas) ss 130B-C.

78 See, eg, Crimes Act 1900 (ACT) s 65; Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) s 471.17; Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) s 91H; Criminal Code Act 1983 (NT) s 125B; Criminal Code 1899 (Qld) s 228C.

79 Lenhart (n 19) 2; Lippman and Campbell (n 40) 372.

80 Mitchell and others (n 7) 17.

81 Lippman and Campbell (n 40) 378.

82 Donald S Strassberg and others, ‘Sexting by High School Students: An Exploratory and Descriptive Study’ (2013) 42 Archives of Sexual Behavior 15, 18.

83 Strassberg and others (n 82) 19.

84 Elizabeth S Scott and Laurence Steinberg, ‘Adolescent Development and the Regulation of Youth Crime’ (2008) 18(2) The Future of Children 15, 20.

85 Lia O’Brien and others, ‘Adolescents Prefer More Immediate Rewards When in the Presence of Their Peers’ (2011) 21 Journal of Research on Adolescence 747, 757.

86 Scott and Steinberg (n 84) 20.

87 Joris Van Ouytsel and others, ‘Sexting: Adolescents’ Perceptions of the Applications Used for, Motives for, and Consequences of Sexting’ (2017) 20(4) Journal of Youth Studies 446, 448.

88 Rice and others (n 51) 670.

89 Van Ouytsel and others (n 87) 449.

90 Walrave, Heirman and Hallam (n 3) 95.

91 Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA) s 49; Criminal Code 1924 (Tas) s 124.

92 Crimes Act 1900 (ACT) s 55; Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) s 66C; Criminal Code 1983 (NT) s 127; Criminal Code 1899 (Qld) s 215; Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) s 49B; Criminal Code 1913 (WA) s 321.

93 Crimes Act 1900 (ACT) s 55(3)(b).

94 Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) s 49V.

95 Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA) s 49(4).

96 Criminal Code 1924 (Tas) s 124(3)(a).

97 Criminal Code 1924 (Tas) s 124(3)(b).

98 See, eg, Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) s 61HE(2); Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) s 36; Criminal Code 1913 (WA) s 319.

99 Crimes Act 1900 (ACT) s 64(1); Criminal Code Act (NT) s 1; Criminal Code Act 1924 (Tas) s 1A; Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) s 51A; Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).

100 Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) s 91FA; Criminal Code 1899 (Qld) s 207A; Criminal Code Act Compilation Act 1913 (WA) s 217A.

101 Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA) s 62.

102 Baumgartner and others (n 18) 160.

103 Mitchell and others (n 7) 17.

104 Laurence Steinberg, ‘Risk Taking in Adolescence: New Perspectives from Brain and Behavioral Science’ (2007) 16(2) Current Directions in Psychological Science 55.

105 Valerie F Reyna and Frank Farley, ‘Risk and Rationality in Adolescent Decision Making: Implications for Theory, Practice, and Public Policy’ (2006) 7(1) Psychological Science in the Public Interest 1, 28.

106 Steinberg, ‘Risk Taking in Adolescence’ (n 104) 56.

107 Laurence Steinberg, ‘Adolescent Development and Juvenile Justice’ (2009) 5 Annual Review of Clinical Psychology 47, 56.

108 Steinberg, ‘Risk Taking in Adolescence’ (n 104) 56.

109 Steinberg, ‘Risk Taking in Adolescence’ (n 104) 56.

110 Adriana Galvan and others, ‘Risk-taking and the Adolescent Brain: Who Is at Risk?’ (2007) 10(2) Developmental Science F8, F13.

111 Steinberg, ‘Adolescent Development’ (n 107) 55.

112 Steinberg, ‘Risk Taking in Adolescence’ (n 104) 56.

113 Steinberg, ‘Adolescent Development’ (n 107) 54.

114 Steinberg, ‘Risk Taking in Adolescence’ (n 104) 22.

115 Ronald E Dahl, ‘Affect Regulation, Brain Development, and Behavioral/Emotional Health in Adolescence’ (2001) 6(1) CNS Spectrums 60–72, cited in Steinberg, ‘Adolescent Development’ (n 107) 54.

116 Scott and Steinberg (n 84) 19.

117 Scott and Steinberg (n 84) 19.

118 Scott and Steinberg (n 84) 19.

119 Scott and Steinberg (n 84) 29.

120 Queensland Police, Operations Procedures Manual (State of Queensland, Issue 68, 2015) 37–38.

121 See, eg, Young Offenders Act 1997 (NSW); Youth Justice Act 1992 (Qld).

122 Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council, Classification of Child Exploitation Material for Sentencing Purposes Consultation Paper (Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council 2017) 17.

123 Lewis Donohew and others, ‘Sensation Seeking, Impulsive Decision-making, and Risky Sex: Implications for Risk-taking and Design of Interventions’ (2000) 28(6) Personality and Individual Differences 1079, 1089.

124 Philip Palmgreen and others, ‘Effects of the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s Marijuana Initiative Campaign on High-sensation-seeking Adolescents’ (2007) 97(9) American Journal of Public Health 1644, 1649.

125 Walrave, Heirman and Hallam (n 3) 95.

126 Walrave, Heirman and Hallam (n 3) 95; Joseph A Dake and others, ‘Prevalence and Correlates of Sexting Behavior in Adolescents’ (2012) 7(1) American Journal of Sexuality Education 1, 3.

127 Symons and others (n 96) 3853.