Online Safety for Schools Online Safety Magazine for Schools | Page 22

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Indecent Image of a Child:
An Indecent Image of a Child is not defined by law, the decision of
whether an image is indecent is left to the police, CPS and the jury.
Whilst no legal definition exists for an Indecent Image of a Child, the image itself will have to be or contain elements
of sexually explicit imagery (as with a Sext), so the correct synonymising with Sexy Selfie should or could be Indecent
Image of a Child. Therefore Under 18's have been placed on the Sex Offenders
Registered for a minimum of 1 year as a result of being charged or cautioned. The
offence of making and distributing an indecent image of a child was generated prior
to the current technological era (and before some were born). This offence was
always intended for an adult who created and distributed images of a child, not for
peer on peer images. Therefore, the line between whether a child is a victim, or an
offender is a completely distorted one.
This is a real case of using a 'sledgehammer to crack open a nut', resulting in the
complete unnecessary Criminalisation of a Child and destroying their reputation and
preventing goals and plans for future education and employment.
Legal Issue - Criminalisation of Children
Certainly, with several Under 18-year-old teens being placed on the sex offender
register as a result of being charged or cautioned for the making and/or distribution
of Indecent Images of Children legislation has been created to attempt to prevent the Criminalisation of teenagers.
Current Legislation
The Obscene Publications Act 1959, Section 8 & 9 sexual Offences Act 2003, Section 127 Communications Act
2003, all make it a criminal offence for anyone of any age to commit a relevant offence of creating/ sending
sexual messaging including imagery. So new legislation has been created in the form of Section 67 Serious Crime
Act 2015 which specifically states that the offence can only be committed by someone over 18. However closer
examination proves this new legislation to be problematic.
On closer examination not only does an offender have to be over 18, but sexual intention must be proved (never
easy). Furthermore, the victim must under 16, so this adds confusion as this means that 17-year olds can send to
each other under this legislation but still commit offences under the older legislation! No power of arrest exists for
this specific offence and the logistical & financial cost for investigating these offences (interviews, forensic
examinations of devices etc) suggests that this legislation will not ever be used. This new legislation is not
straightforward, and I do not see it as preventing the criminalisation of children.