How to talk to teens about sexting online

How do you talk to teenagers about sexting and online grooming, how much do they consider the "normal" exchange of sexualized images or other messages between friends or couples to be a problem, and how aware of the consequences of risky behavior or sexual harassment of teenage girls online? And what key messages on this topic can "work" with adolescents?

The team of the International NGO "Social Initiatives for Health and Safety" (LHSI) plans to get answers to these questions in the framework of the project "Cybersafety for teens", which was launched with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands through the Human Rights Foundation.

With the help of the Kyiv City Center for Social Services and the Vidrada Scout Association, such focus groups and interviews with teenagers, as well as their involvement in the formation of key messages of the future information campaign are planned within the children's scout camps "Vodogray" and "Cossack Ways". On July 9, LHSI experts conducted a training for children's group leaders.

The objectives of the training were:

• to find out the participants' understanding of key concepts on the topic;
• discuss the causes and consequences of risky behavior and sexual harassment of adolescent girls on the Internet;
• to acquaint participants with the methodological principles of using such tools as a focus group, interviews, observations, thematic exercise;
• discuss and agree on focus group scenarios, tutor interview with a teenager, a teenager with a teenager; analyze the basic forms, tasks, and algorithms for generating information messages on the topic.

The training was stormy and intense. And this week the participants will start preparatory work with teenagers.

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