Spike in young men being extorted over intimate images

SpunOut.ie has been contacted by young men looking for assistance after they exchanged intimate photos online with someone they believed to be another young person.

A number of young men across the country have recently had to seek help because they were facing intimate image abuse from online fraudsters.

Ian Power of SpunOut.ie told the Oireachtas education committee that the youth NGO has been contacted by young men looking for assistance after they exchanged intimate photos online with someone they believed to be another young person.

This fraudster would then attempt to extort the young person while threatening to release their image. It’s a global issue, recently highlighted by the Australian online safety regulator, Mr Power told the committee.

“Unfortunately, recently young men across Ireland have reached out to both our live chat service and also our text service in that scenario, where they are embarrassed and worried and they just don't know what to do.” 

An online safety regulator for young people in this scenario would require a takedown of that type of content, he added, “particularly where platforms don't respond". 

Mental health supports

The education committee was meeting to continue discussions on mental health supports in schools and tertiary education. It heard from representatives from mental health services and professionals.

Maureen Murray of Jigsaw said the youth mental health charity has experienced more and more young people seeking its services. It found the most common concerns among 12 to 17 years olds were anxiety, low mood and sleep changes.

Meanwhile, Ireland does not have enough places on professional training programmes to meet current or future demands, Mark Smyth of the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI) told the committee.

Psychology services

As of August, more than 11,000 children were waiting for access to psychology services, with almost 4,000 waiting more than a year for an appointment. 

"That is 4,000 young lives prevented from accessing the supports that would see their difficulties reduced and overcome by spending over a year waiting for those supports." 

While the additional investment in primary care psychology and mental health as part of the 2022 Waiting List Action Plan is “welcome”, there are not enough psychologists trained or available for sustained meaningful reductions in waiting lists, he added.

The HSE estimated an additional 322 psychologists are needed in mental health services alone, he said. "Each year approximately 100 psychologists enter professional training programmes.”

 A critical factor is the insufficient number of funded postgraduate training places.