A father whose 14-year-old daughter is facing pressure to send nude photos over Snapchat has said it is a common occurrence for girls her age.

On The Hard Shoulder this evening, ‘Peter’ in Wicklow said his daughter recently told him that a boy she knows was asking her to send him nude pictures.

He said he asked her if other girls were facing the same pressure and she told him it was “commonplace” for her friends to be asked.

“Earlier on, going into secondary school, she had a bit of a bullying issue so she is a little bit lacking in confidence at the moment,” he said.

“Recently a boy she knows – I know him as well, he’s not a bad kid – he was showing a bit of interest and I could tell she was a little bit chuffed with herself and she was telling me about it. She’s not that open a kid, so that was kind of nice.

“Then, recently, she started saying that he was asking her to send nude pictures and it just took a very different slant and, very honestly, I don’t really know how to react about it.

He said he was delighted his daughter was open enough to tell him about it – adding that he was contacting the show to see if other parents were aware of the situation.

“She says it is commonplace,” he said. “I’m trying to let her talk about it without challenging her and telling her what she has to do – and obviously explaining to her that it is not acceptable. That it’s not a good way for any young of the young lads to be acting, in my opinion anyway.”

Pressure

He said the boy in question is in a different school but is part of his daughter’s wider circle of friends.

“It’s hard for me to understand her feelings on it because, in one way she’s chuffed with getting the attention and then, when I was telling her this wasn’t OK, she did something about it,” he said.

“She sort of said stop and then she blocked him for a while off Snapchat and then let him back on.

“She is not shutting him down completely but I don’t think she knows what to do herself. She has never sent any pictures and I have explained to her that there is an issue there with the circulation of images kids. Child pornography effectively is what it is

“The problem is, as we all know, even if Snapchat images disappear, if someone takes a snap of it or a screengrab there’s a problem and it is out in the wider world.

“So, we are trying to educate the kids that a private conversation can really snowball if it is not dealt with properly or if kids let it out into the wider domain.”

Education

Peter said his plan now is to let it sit for a while and, if it continues, have a conversation with the boy’s mother.

“I really just would like it to get discussed out there,” he said.

“I’m from a family of boys and I have daughters now so, there is a different perspective but I  just think everybody needs to educate their kids. This thing about respecting everybody, boys or girls, just needs to be hammered home and be aware that, even if you think your kid is not involved, they could be – this is all happening on phones in bedrooms at night-time.”

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