The internet is an everyday part of children’s lives. They use it to learn, connect with friends, play games, create things and explore their interests.
But there are risks online too, including harassment, scams, sexual exploitation, fake accounts, theft of personal information and threats involving nude images.
Protecting your child does not mean banning the internet completely or secretly checking their phone. One of the most important protections is helping your child feel confident that, if something goes wrong:
“I can tell my mother, father or caregiver about this without being afraid.”
Forms of Online Gender-Based Violence
Online gender-based violence can take different forms. Each can harm the person being targeted.
This abuse often targets someone’s gender, sexuality, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability or another aspect of their identity. Girls, LGBTIQA+ children, children with disabilities and other children who experience discrimination may face greater risks.
- Sending sexual images without consent [Cyberflashing]
Cyberflashing means sending someone unwanted images or videos showing genitals, nudity or sexual activity without their consent.
Receiving this content can make a child feel frightened, ashamed, uncomfortable or distressed. If someone sends it without being asked, receiving it is not the child’s fault.
- Stalking someone online [Cyberstalking]
Cyberstalking involves using digital technology to monitor someone, track their location or repeatedly try to contact them in unwanted ways.
This can include:
Constantly monitoring a child’s social media accounts.
Creating new accounts to contact them after being blocked.
Tracking their location.
Asking friends for information about them.
Frightening them by showing that the person knows where they go.
Secretly installing a tracking app on their phone.
It can also be part of abuse within a relationship. An abusive person may use technology to control or frighten someone who is trying to leave.
- Secretly taking or watching private images or videos [Digital voyeurism]
Digital voyeurism involves watching, photographing or recording someone’s body in a private or intimate situation without their consent. Sharing such recordings is another form of abuse.
This can involve:
Using a hidden camera.
Secretly recording someone in a changing area.
Recording a video call without permission.
Stealing private images from a phone.
Sending those images to other people.
Related abuse includes using AI or other technology to alter an ordinary photograph, creating a fake image or video that appears to show someone naked or taking part in sexual activity.
- Exposing personal information [Doxing]
Doxing means publishing someone’s private information online without their permission.
This may include:
Their home address.
Their phone number.
Their school’s name.
Their workplace.
Information about family members.
Places the child regularly visits.
Private photographs.
Someone may publish this information to encourage others to contact, intimidate, harass or physically harm the child.
- Gender-based hate speech
Gender-based hate speech includes insulting, shaming, intimidating or degrading someone because of their sexuality, gender or sexual orientation.
It can happen through comments, messages, memes, videos, voice messages or social media posts.
Examples include:
Sexual insults.
Statements that degrade girls or LGBTIQA+ children.
Justifying violence by saying, “They deserved it.”
Telling someone to harm themselves.
Threatening sexual or physical violence.
- Identity theft, impersonation and fake profiles
This involves using someone’s name, photographs or other personal information to pretend to be them or create a fake account.
The account may be used to:
Publish posts that humiliate the child.
Send messages in the child’s name.
Ask their friends or family for money.
Publish false advertisements claiming that the child provides sexual services.
Share the child’s address or phone number.
Try to damage their relationships.
- Creating fake sexual images [Morphing and deepfakes]
Images or videos can be edited, combined or generated using AI to create fake nude or sexual images of someone. These may be described as morphed images or sexual deepfakes.
Such images or videos may be used to:
Humiliate a child.
Damage their reputation.
Frighten them.
Demand money or more images.
Publish content on pornographic websites.
Even when the image is fake, the fear, shame and emotional harm experienced by the child are real.
- Sharing intimate or nude content without consent
This includes sending or publishing someone’s nude, partially nude or sexual photographs, videos or audio recordings without their consent.
Even if someone originally sent an image willingly, that does not mean they agreed to it being shared with others.
Someone may also threaten to share the content to demand:
Money.
More images.
Sexual activity.
A continued relationship.
Compliance with another demand.
- Building a child’s trust for sexual exploitation [Online grooming]
Online grooming involves using the internet or other digital technology to gain a child’s trust so that the person can sexually exploit them, online or in person.
The person may:
Pretend to be around the child’s age.
Claim to be the only person who understands the child’s problems.
Show affection or give special attention.
Offer gifts, money or mobile phone credit.
Ask the child to hide the relationship from parents and friends.
Request private or nude images.
Try to meet the child in person.
- Online sexual harassment and bullying
Online sexual harassment includes sending unwanted sexual comments, questions, images or threats through messages, emails, calls, comments, video calls or direct messages.
It may include:
Sexual comments about a child’s body.
Requests for nude images.
Sending sexual images or videos.
Pressure to take part in sexual activity.
Threats of rape or other sexual violence.
Spreading sexual rumours.
When several people work together to repeatedly harass someone, this can be called coordinated or networked harassment.
- Online threats and blackmail
Online blackmail involves threatening to share someone’s private information, photographs or videos with friends, family or the public to force them to meet a demand.
The images or information may be real or fabricated, including content created using AI.
The person may use these threats to:
Demand money.
Demand more images.
Force sexual activity.
Prevent someone from ending a relationship.
Pressure someone to withdraw a complaint.
- Threats involving sexual images [Sextortion]
Sextortion involves threatening to share intimate or nude images or videos to demand sexual activity, more sexual images, money or other forms of compliance.
If a child experiences this, do not blame them. Paying money or sending more images does not guarantee that the threats will stop. Stay with the child, preserve evidence safely and seek appropriate help immediately.
- Making money from sexual exploitation [Sexploitation]
This includes using someone’s sexual or intimate content without their consent to make money.
Examples include:
Selling nude or sexual images to pornographic websites.
Selling secretly recorded videos.
Livestreaming someone without their knowledge.
Selling fake sexual images created using AI.
- Disrupting online meetings with harmful content [Zoom bombing]
Zoom bombing involves entering an online class, meeting or other online gathering without permission and disrupting it with content intended to frighten or distress participants.
This may include:
Sexual or pornographic content.
Racist statements.
Gender-based insults.
Religious or other hate speech.
Threatening sounds or images.
It can happen on any online meeting or classroom platform, not only Zoom.
The Most Important Thing for Parents to Remember
If your child tells you about one of these experiences, listen first. Do not blame them. Make sure they are safe before making decisions about taking away their phone or imposing punishment.
Tell your child:
“It is important that you told me. This is not your fault. We will face this together.”
If children feel they must hide what happened, the person abusing them gains more power. Being able to come to you without fear is an important protection.
Read more: Youth-Toolkit_14-Dec_compressed-final
How Can You Help If Your Child Experiences Online Abuse?
Your first response matters when your child tells you about online harassment, sexual threats or blackmail. Blaming them, shouting or taking away their phone may frighten them further and make them hide what happened.
Listen to your child first
You can say:
“It is important that you told me.”
“This is not your fault.”
“I will not blame you.”
“We will face this together.”
“My first responsibility is to keep you safe.”
Avoid starting with questions such as, “Why did you trust that person?”, “Why did you send the photograph?” or “Didn’t I warn you?”
You can talk calmly later to understand what happened.
Check whether your child is safe
Ask:
Does the person making threats know your child?
Do they know the child’s home, school or location?
Are they trying to meet the child?
Have they threatened physical harm to the child or a family member?
Is the child extremely frightened, distressed or at risk of harming themselves?
If there is immediate danger, do not leave your child alone. Call 119 or go to the nearest police station. If emergency medical assistance is needed, call 1990 Suwa Seriya.
Preserve evidence safely
Before blocking the account or deleting messages:
Take screenshots of threatening messages.
Record the username, profile name and account link.
Note the date and time.
Record the phone number, email address and platform used.
If money was demanded, record the payment details.
Do not download, screenshot, forward or show other people nude or sexual images of a child. Preserve the threats, usernames and links without copying or redistributing the child’s sexual images.
If someone threatens to share a nude image
The person may:
Demand money.
Demand more images.
Pressure the child into sexual activity.
Threaten to tell the child’s parents or friends.
Do not pay or send more images. Meeting the demand does not guarantee that the threats will stop.
Even if the child originally sent the image willingly, that does not mean they agreed to it being shared with others. The person making threats or sharing it without consent is responsible for that abuse.
Your child should not be afraid of you
People who abuse children online often threaten, “I’ll tell your father”, “I’ll show your mother” or “I’ll send this to people at your school.”
If the child fears their parents’ reaction, the person making threats can use that fear to control them.
Tell your child in advance:
“If someone uses a photograph or video to threaten to tell me, you can come to me first. I will not hit or insult you. We will deal with this safely together.”
When your child knows you will support them, it becomes harder for someone to control them through threats.
Secure the account and report what happened
After preserving evidence:
Report the relevant message, post and account to the platform.
Block the account making threats.
Change passwords.
Enable two-factor authentication.
Check privacy settings and location sharing.
If necessary, briefly warn the child’s friends about a fake account.
Where to get help in Sri Lanka
1929 — National Child Protection Authority: To report abuse or online sexual violence involving a child under 18.
109 — Police Bureau for the Investigation of Abuse of Children and Women.
011 244 4444 — Police Children and Women’s Bureau.
cwb.online@police.gov.lk — To submit a complaint by email.
101 — Sri Lanka CERT: For technical and online security guidance. Report social media incidents through its official Incident Reporting Portal.
Continue supporting your child afterwards
Reporting an incident does not immediately remove the child’s fear, shame or anxiety. Notice changes in sleep, eating, school attendance, contact with friends or mood.
Do not force the child to repeatedly describe what happened. Do not share the incident with relatives or others without their agreement. If needed, involve the child in arranging support from a qualified counsellor or mental health professional.
The most important message is:
When your child comes to you with a problem, protect them before thinking about punishment.
What Is the “Manosphere”, and Why Should Parents Pay Attention?
The internet helps people learn and connect. It is also used to spread hatred, abuse and misogyny—hostility towards women and girls. Networks that promote these ideas are often described as the “manosphere”.
What is the manosphere?
The manosphere is a collection of online communities that promote narrow and often aggressive ideas about what it means to be a man. These communities spread the false claim that feminism and gender equality have damaged men’s rights.
They teach that a man’s worth depends on suppressing emotions, wealth, physical appearance and, especially, power over women. These ideas appear across social media, podcasts, online gaming and dating apps.
Why might boys be attracted to these ideas?
Young people who feel lonely, anxious or socially excluded may be drawn to this content. They may encounter manosphere influencers while looking for advice about fitness, relationships, money or personal development.
Although these influencers may present themselves as teaching responsibility and success, they often encourage boys and young men to blame women, girls and feminism for their difficulties.
How does the manosphere portray women?
Many manosphere communities are brought together by hostility and prejudice towards women and girls. They spread myths, false claims presented as science and misinformation about gender.
“Incel” groups claim that men are entitled to sex and that women deliberately deny it to them.
“Men’s rights activists” within the manosphere claim that feminism and women’s rights harm men.
“Pickup artist” groups teach methods of manipulating or pressuring women into sexual activity and undermine consent.
“Red pill” communities promote the false idea that society systematically favours women over men.
Language used in these communities can dehumanise women and present all women as if they think and behave in the same way.
Effects in everyday life
Misogyny spread through the manosphere harms boys as well as women and girls. It teaches boys that men should hide their emotions and always be powerful and controlling.
Research has linked rigid beliefs about masculinity with risky behaviour, neglect of mental health, depression and suicidal thoughts. Manosphere messages about women can also normalise sexual violence and threaten progress towards gender equality.
What should parents do?
Manosphere messages should not be dismissed as “internet jokes”. These ideas can influence behaviour in schools, workplaces, families and intimate relationships, making violence against women and girls seem acceptable.
Parents should talk openly about the content children see, challenge misogynistic ideas and teach relationships based on equality, respect and consent.
Myths and Facts About People Who Sexually Abuse Children Online
Myth: Only adult men target children sexually online.
Fact: People who commit this abuse can be of different ages, genders and backgrounds. You cannot identify an abuser by appearance, age or social status.
Myth: The person shown on an online account is the person actually using it.
Fact: It can be difficult to verify someone’s identity online. An account that appears to belong to someone around a child’s age may be operated by someone of a different age or identity.
Myth: Someone who seems “nice” or friendly cannot be dangerous.
Fact: People seeking to abuse a child may speak kindly and show interest in things the child enjoys to gain their trust.
Parents should maintain regular conversations with their children and explain that a person’s claimed identity online should not automatically be trusted.
