Receiving unsolicited ‘dick pics’ entirely normalised for second-level pupils

Girls experienced more digital harassment of a sexual nature than boys by a significant difference, including heightened experiences since Covid-19.

Receiving unsolicited ‘dick pics’ and pressure to send nude images have become almost entirely normalised for secondary school students, a landmark new study from Dublin City University has found.

The study by Dr Debbie Ging and Dr Ricardo Castellini da Silva called, Young People’s Experiences of Sexual and Gender-based Harassment and Abuse During the Covid-19 Pandemic in Ireland: Incidence, Intervention and Recommendations, is being launched on Tuesday. It contains some of the first statistics on cyber flashing and other forms of image-based sexual abuse among Irish youths.