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Law enforcement agencies across Canada are over a rise in sexual extortion ("") against young people.

The problem goes far beyond sextortion, as this is only one form of many variations of online sexual harms that target youth today. Teenagers in Canada can be victims of , and .

Some high-profile sextortion incidents include the deaths by suicide of , , and .

The scale of the problem

includes harmful practices such as sexual name-calling and rumor spreading, non-consensual distribution of intimate images (nudes) and other forms of sexual harassment.

recently conducted a survey with more than 1,000 teens aged 13 to 18 across Canada to learn about .

Our findings underscore how widespread these harms are: more than a quarter of the teens (28%) reported experiencing at least one form of TFSV.

In addition to so many youth experiencing TFSV, almost half (47%) said that TFSV had happened to someone they knew. The most common forms of TFSV reported in our survey were receiving unwanted sexual images (15%), encountering unwanted porn (13%) and being sexually harassed online (11%).

Online platforms

We also asked the teens which social media sites and online gaming services had the most sexual harassment. The platform they mentioned most often was Snapchat, followed by TikTok and Instagram. Snapchat has been known for its and .

Girls experienced TFSV at a higher rate (32%) than boys (23%), which is consistent with .

Teens who said they were or had a learning disability were more likely to be subjected to TFSV (39%). TFSV was also higher among teens with a mental health condition (40%).

These findings are consistent with previous research that showed .

A small but significant number of teens (seven percent) reported committing at least one form of TFSV. This was more common among boys (nine percent) than girls (six percent).

Insufficient support

Parents and guardians were the most relevant source of support for teens who had been subjected to TFSV. Nearly half (44%) of the teens turned to them, and most of these teens found them helpful.

The teens were much less likely to seek support from institutions. Only about one in 10 (12%) told , with only seven percent telling the police. Unfortunately, these numbers are , as to the police.

Young people showed little confidence in the reporting tools and moderation systems of social media platforms. As little as five percent of the teens had used these to report sexually harmful materials. Almost one in three teens (29%) thought that the digital platforms should do a better job supporting them.

This finding is important to consider as social media companies are , making their platforms possibly .

Teens' misconceptions

Most teens (90% and up) knew that several forms of TFSV were illegal in Canada. However, they were less certain when asked if it was legal to create a fake sexual video of someone. This is unsurprising: legal views of vary by province. Some allow civil action, while .

The teens' knowledge of the law was incomplete in other areas. Almost two-thirds (61%) thought that sending a nude picture of themselves to other youth was illegal. . as long as they are consensual and kept private between them; that most teens don't know this is troubling.

Sexting and sharing nudes is a . In our survey, teens who thought that nude image sharing was illegal were less likely to seek help with TFSV.

Some teens (26%) thought that taking a nude picture of themselves was illegal. .

These misconceptions matter, as young people need to be informed about their legal rights to sexual expression. Proper education will prevent shame, fear and other barriers to seeking support when someone is distributing their images against their will or coercing them into harmful practices.

An urgent issue

Social media and other forms of digital communication , which means that addressing TFSV is an urgent issue. While the federal government and some provincial governments have taken steps or proposed legislation aimed at protecting youth, some responses have been proven to be unrealistic and ineffective.

Governments—and tech companies in particular—need to do more to prevent TFSV and support youth who experience it.

Schools can also take action to help youth. However, there is within educational curricula, policies and legislation across the provinces and territories. This means that even though TFSV is a common problem, most parents, teachers, police and frontline workers lack the resources and strategies needed to respond effectively and promptly.

Our findings highlight , as many youth in our survey did not receive help for TFSV, even when they sought it out. In many instances, telling others actually made the situation worse.

TFSV is a gendered problem that . It is important to keep in mind who is most at risk when developing TFSV resources and interventions.

We believe that with from the private and public sectors, young people can live in a digital world where they feel safe online and can easily access effective resources and support.

This article is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the .