Alex's Answer

Hi and welcome to Ask Alex, 

It is so important to speak out about things that are worrying you and you have made a very brave first step so well done for that. Things will never change if we don’t use our voices and speak up, the more we share the more we learn. 

You have said you sent pictures to someone you just met, and they threatened to send them to all your Instagram followers. You blocked them and told everyone it was fake, but you are still scared they will send them anyway. This must be very scary and worrying for you. We would imagine that you feel very angry and upset with all of this going on. We would have to question if the images that you sent are sexualised or show any form of nudity?  

If this is the case, we would like to inform you that it is a criminal offence to possess, produce, share, post or show any explicit image of a person under 18 years old. This means that if the individual who is threatening to show those images, can face serious consequences and may even be prosecuted. It is very important to report this to the Gardai if the images are explicit. We know this can be hard and is very unnerving, but it will protect you and it will prevent this person from blackmailing you also. It is so important although frightening, to follow up on these things so that we can stop this from happening to you again or another person. 

Online safety is something that comes up a lot now, with so much being done online today. We would just like to highlight the importance of considering what and who you share details with, as once they go online it can be very difficult to remove them. People we meet online and through the internet may not always be the person they say they are so we would be cautious about what information or details to give them. There is a lot of support and education around how to be safe online visit www.childline.ie for more information and articles., including  www.childline.ie/5-reasons-why-its-never-a-good-idea-to-send-nudes/ and www.childline.ie/being-safe-online/. 

If you find that your images are shared online, you can contact www.hotline.ie to have them removed. 

Please reach out and find someone that you can confide in who will help you through this difficult time. Childline is another outlet that is available where you could talk through how you are feeling, the contact details are 1800 66 66 66 for the phone line or through our web chat on www.childline.ie/about-us/. You can start a chat by clicking on the Orange Tab on the right-hand side of your screen. Childline services are free and confidential, and are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.    

Look after yourself, 

Alex