Online harassment of girls is “so standard” that some parents see it as “normal”, a study has found.

Online safety charity Internet Matters found that 77% of girls aged 13 to 16 in the UK report digital experiences that are or may be harmful.

The survey also found that parents “are coming to regard online harassment of girls as normal – verging upon trivialising it”.

Carolyn Bunting, the charity’s co-executive, noted the majority of parents “are doing their best” to support their children but said she is concerned that “we’ve collectively lost sight of the fact that what is unacceptable offline should also be unacceptable online”.

Read more from Sky News:
Kids first see violent content at primary school – watchdog
Paedophiles using AI to ‘de-age’ celebrities
Brianna Ghey’s mum calls for phones made for under-16’s

A mother with a 15-year-old daughter said in an interview with Internet Matters that “dick pics” are “so standard it’s not noteworthy and they just block it and move on”.

She then went on to say her daughter “didn’t tell me, it has become a completely standard thing to happen to a teenager and I don’t think it has had a deleterious effect on her”.

Japan schools take action to tackle upskirting of cheerleaders at tournament

Spider: Play about drama school misconduct lifts curtain on trauma behind the scenes

Ambulance boss admits ‘much more’ to do after paramedics speak out over sexual harassment and misogyny

Another mother of a 17-year-old girl said her daughter had older men asking to be her “sugar daddy” on her modelling account on Instagram.

The teenager also told the charity that she saw sexual comments on a video of two 12-year-old girls, and said: “The whole comments section was being weird… they were young girls and fully clothed.”

The study was based on 12 in-depth interviews with teenage girls and parents, carried out from November 2023 to January 2024 by BMG Research.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

In its report, Internet Matters called for a public campaign to “reset expectations about appropriate behaviour online” and for updated statutory guidance from Ofcom on reducing risks for women and girls.

It comes after the Internet Watch Foundation found that more than 90% of websites found to contain child sexual abuse featured “self-generated” images extorted from victims as young as three.

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

The Online Safety Act – which was passed last year – requires providers of online services to minimise the extent of illegal and harmful content.

However, a parliamentary committee said that the benefit may not be felt for some time as full implementation of the law had been delayed until 2026.

Related posts:

Evolution of ‘twilight zone’ ocean creatures linked to climate change Previous infection and vaccination combine for best protection against COVID variants Facebook loses bid to dismiss antitrust lawsuit demanding it sells WhatsApp and Instagram Oldest ever confirmed human fossils are even older than previously thought Alleged 21-year-old founder of cyber criminal marketplace arrested in UK The ‘most valuable car’ in the world sells for a record €135m – but it’s for a good cause Musk breaks world record for largest loss of personal fortune in history Who is the new Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino? Newspaper apologises and takes down ‘hoax’ AI-generated article Taurine amino acid deficiency ‘may speed up ageing process’ China iPhone curbs take £160bn bite out of Apple Onewheel electric skateboards recalled worldwide after deaths