Sexting between teenagers is currently considered a crime a lot of the time, which everyone can agree is simply inappropriate use of the law. Young people are increasingly sending each other photos of themselves in a completely consensual way, with no harm ever done. Current law means sexting teenagers can face child pornography charges. If you or your child are facing any of these charges, contact Vanessa Ash for expert legal advice.

A New South Wales parliamentary committee is to look into teenage sexuality, with Youth Action making a submission hoping the government can take into account the different way teenagers express themselves in the digital age. Consensual sexting isn’t the same as child porn, even if the images contain teens under the legal age of consent (which is 16).

The parliamentary committee is looking into social media, selfies, messaging, and sexting, to try to determine how and why teenagers are using images of themselves online, and how we go about dealing with this in a protective, yet accommodating, way. The inquiry heard from representatives in the advertising industry regarding the sexualisation of teens online, in print, and in marketing.

     How sex ed fits into this
One thing that has become clear is that sex education has not caught up with technology. Preconceived ideas about what constitutes healthy sexuality need to be updated – things have changed, and we all could have done with a bit better sex ed. Over-regulating teenagers sexual exploration will only end in tears, and criminalising normal – but modern – interactions isn’t the way forward.

The results of the parliamentary committee will be released in the coming months.

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