For Immediate Release

Jenny Murphy-Shifflet SARCC President/CEO 7 7-!7"-#$7! %"&#

SARCC RESPO'(S )O )EE' SE*)I'+ CASE ,I)- )A./I'+ POI')S FOR PARE')S0

.e1anon2 PA3 January & 2 !" 4 The recent report of a State Police investigation involving sexting between high school students has brought to light the potential dangers of transmitting naked photos. In this same report, State police warned parents and students that the investigation pertains to the possession, transmission and dissemination of girls in various stages of undress, also known as sexting. )he Se%ual Assault Resour5e and Counselin6 Center of .e1anon and S5huyl7ill Counties and the Pennsyl8ania Coalition A6ainst Rape 9ant to en5oura6e all parents to tal7 9ith their 5hildren a1out the dan6ers of se%tin6 1y usin6 the follo9in6 tal7in6 points: * Communicate with tweens teens what are health! relationships and what is health! sexualit!. This should be an on"going conversation beginning in !oung childhood and continuing through adolescence with age appropriate content references. #aving an open rapport about sex increases the chances !our kids will ask !ou $uestions, share things that are happening with peers, and talk about their concerns. * %xplain to teens the public atmosphere of c!ber space and that all things posted, sent or linked are part of public domain and accessible. &othing is private. It can be viewed b! an!one either through someone hacking into sites and email or a private image, email, clip, podcast can be forwarded to someone who then takes it upon themselves to disseminate to others. There is literall! &' control over where a photo goes, who sees it, or who saves it once it is sent. * (iscuss with tweens teens what constitutes sexual bull!ing and c!ber sexual bull!ing. (iscuss options about what the! can do if the! are being

bullied and what their actions ma! lead to if the! are the ones doing the bull!ing. * )e aware that c!ber bull!ing sexual c!ber bull!ing are new forms of bull!ing. *dolescents no longer have a place to escape in order to get awa! from the abuse. )ull!ing is not onl! happening in the hallwa!s. It is in their text messages, chat rooms, voice mails, online games, Instagram, +acebook pages, twitter, ,ouTube and an! other social networking medium. If targeted for bull!ing tweens teens have nowhere to get awa! from the abuse. * -ake tweens teens aware of the ramifications if the! are involved with c!ber bull!ing or sending electronic images of people under the age of ./ in sexual positions, acts or who are nude0 criminal charges against them, civil suits against their families, targets of bull!ing ma! develop depression, becomes isolated and or attempt or commit suicide. * Parents need to check cell phones, the pictures, videos and text on cell phone, digital cameras, and Instagram and +acebook pages to see who their tweens teens are communicating with and what are the! communicating about themselves and about others. * Penns!lvania is a commonwealth1 therefore, 23 different (istrict *ttorne!s will base their decisions on who is charged in sexting and what the charges, penalties will be. * )e conscious of the developmental stages tweens and teens are working through and how that impacts their abilit! openness to processing the penalties and dangers of sexting. If parents need more 6uidan5e a1out these tal7in6 points OR if you ha8e 1een 8i5timi;ed2 please 5onta5t our hotline at 7 7-!7!-<&"= to tal7 9ith a se%ual assault 5ounselor0 >>>