A man on the Internet threatened me in to sending him rude pictures and videos and he made me do rude things on cam. I don't know what to do, he keeps threatening me and he knows what school I go to because of Facebook and he keeps threatening to hurt my friends. He is one of the reasons that I cut. I don't know what to do. He keeps saying that he will put the pictures on my Facebook page if I don't send him the pictures that he wants. I don't know what to do, I really don't. All I feel like doing is cutting.
Sam
Hi there,
First of all I want to say well done for writing this letter. Nobody has the right to threaten another person, or pressure them into doing something they dont want to do. It sounds like youre going through something really scary, and Im glad that you have reached out for support.
This man is very wrong to ask you to do these things, and I can hear that you have been frightened into listening to him. What he is doing is called blackmail. Youve told me that you are cutting yourself. It sounds like things feel overwhelming and out of control at the moment.
Whats happening to you is a type of online sexual abuse. I want to let you know about different ways you can get support to help make this abuse stop.
You can report whats happening to CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection). They have a video you can watch to find out a bit more about what happens when you contact CEOP.
CEOP are an organisation who work alongside the police to help young people in similar situations to yours. They have a website called thinkuknow with lots of information and videos. In the Consequences video, the problems Jade faces might remind you of your own situation.
One of the dangers of sending another person rude pictures and videos of yourself is that once they are in someone elses hands they are out of your control, and this person can send them to other people or post them anywhere online.
I can hear that this man has made you feel really frightened that he will post these pictures and videos on Facebook. You could block him on Facebook so that he can no longer access your page. Its also always a good idea to change your privacy settings so that nobody can see your photos unless they are your friend.
If you dont feel able to report it yourself, you might want to think about whether you could tell an adult you trust about whats happening. This could be a teacher, family member or carer. They might be able to help you to report this man.
I want to remind you that you are being really brave to tell someone. Its concerning to hear that youre hurting yourself. Its important that you keep any cuts clean and dressed, and that you also clean anything that you cut yourself with so that your blood doesnt get infected. You might want to think about contacting a ChildLine counsellor when you feel like you want to hurt yourself.
I hope this helps.
Take care, Sam
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