TY - JOUR

T1 - Adolescents, sexting and human rights

AU - Gillespie, Alisdair

PY - 2013

Y1 - 2013

N2 - International law has led to many countries changing the definition of ‘child pornography’ to include adolescents above the age of consent but below the age of majority. At the same time, technological change has led to personal photographic devices (most notably the ubiquitous camera phone) becoming common-place and adolescents are participating in behaviour known as ‘sexting’. Whilst there are different versions of this behaviour, one form is where an adolescent freely takes a sexualised photograph of herself and sends it to another. Theoretically this could breach child pornography laws but it is argued here that it is an expression of the adolescent’s sexual identity and thus protected by Articles 8 and 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

AB - International law has led to many countries changing the definition of ‘child pornography’ to include adolescents above the age of consent but below the age of majority. At the same time, technological change has led to personal photographic devices (most notably the ubiquitous camera phone) becoming common-place and adolescents are participating in behaviour known as ‘sexting’. Whilst there are different versions of this behaviour, one form is where an adolescent freely takes a sexualised photograph of herself and sends it to another. Theoretically this could breach child pornography laws but it is argued here that it is an expression of the adolescent’s sexual identity and thus protected by Articles 8 and 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

KW - child pornography

KW - free speech

KW - freedom of expression

KW - Adolescents

KW - sexting

KW - obscenity

U2 - 10.1093/hrlr/ngt032

DO - 10.1093/hrlr/ngt032

M3 - Journal article

VL - 13

JO - Human Rights Law Review

JF - Human Rights Law Review

SN - 1461-7781

IS - 4

ER -