Kenneth Glad
Private material can become a weapon when trust is broken. The issue is not shame, but what happens when someone uses fear to gain power.
According to DR, a survey found that one in six Danish people aged 15 to 31 has been threatened over nude photos or videos.
The practice is often called sextortion. It can include blackmail, grooming, pressure for money or demands for more images.
The organisation Sex & Samfund (translated: Sex & Society) told the Danish broadcaster that victims should not carry the blame when another person misuses private material.
The blame belongs elsewhere
Jeppe Hald of Sex & Samfund said: “It is never your fault that others misuse the pictures you have sent.”
Jonas Ravn from the Center for Digital Pædagogik (Center for Digital Education) said the focus should be on prevention and support, not guilt.
He told DR: “It is a slippery slope to say that when someone commits a crime against you, it is your own responsibility.”
People who are threatened should avoid sending money or more images. They should save screenshots, usernames, messages and payment demands before blocking the person.
In Denmark, victims can contact police, Center for Digital Pædagogik or trusted adults at school or home. In other countries, police, child protection hotlines and platform reporting tools can also help.
That advice matters because sextortion often relies on panic. Delaying a response can make it easier to collect proof and get support.
Laws are not the same everywhere
Danish rules ban people under 15 from sharing sexual images of themselves. Those aged 15 to 17 may do so in a romantic relationship, but the images must be deleted if the relationship ends.
In the UK, according to NSPCC Learning, creating or sharing explicit images of anyone under 18 is a criminal offence, though guidance stresses the law is intended to protect children, not criminalize them.
In the US, writes Stop It Now!, federal law treats sexually explicit visual depictions involving anyone under 18 as illegal child sexual abuse material.
According to the German Independent Commissioner for Child Sexual Abuse Issues, Germany distinguishes between children and adolescents. Sexual images involving adolescents are generally punishable, though a limited exception may apply when the material was created with consent and kept only for personal use.
Sex & Samfund told DR that intimate images have become part of digital communication for many adults, including people over 30.
But consent is essential. Hald said sending nude images to someone who has not agreed to receive them can amount to indecent exposure.
Ravn said sextortion is different from consensual sharing because it may involve deception, grooming and abused trust.
Consensual images are fine as part of a relationship, but only when both people want it, feel safe and are not pressured.
Sources: DR, NSPCC, German Independent Commissioner for Child Sexual Abuse Issues, Stop It Now!
