Even consensual sex chats carry dangers: The risks of sexting and revenge porn

Sending obscene messages or soliciting sexual relations through social media can attract criminal charges. For many young women active on various platforms, receiving vulgar messages from strangers has become an everyday occurrence. While some choose to ignore such offenders, others block them to avoid further harassment. A growing number, however, have begun exposing the senders by publicly sharing screenshots as a form of protest.

However, only a very small number of women actually come forward with complaints against such cyber harassers. Most choose not to pursue action, fearing it would consume too much of their time and energy. At the same time, consensual sex chats have also become common, even among adults. Experts caution that such practices, too, may lead to legal complications.

Even when sexual content is shared with mutual consent, there are risks involved. Sexting often includes sharing nude pictures or videos between partners. This carries a huge danger, because sending your own or someone else’s intimate images counts as sexting. When a person shares their nude photos with a partner out of trust, they must be aware that these images could spread widely at any time.

Forcing or pressuring someone into sexting is an offence. It also carries legal risks. For example, sharing sexually explicit photos or videos of someone without their consent, known as “revenge porn”, is considered a serious crime. If the victim of revenge porn happens to be a minor, the offence becomes even more severe.