What Irish Parents Need to Know About the New Intimate Image Abuse Campaign

If you have a teenager in the house, this is something you need to know about. New figures from Irish Internet Hotline show a 66% increase in reports of intimate image abuse in 2025 — and children under 18 are among those most affected. In response, two of Ireland’s leading online safety organisations are launching a landmark awareness campaign aimed directly at young people aged 13 to 17.

The campaign, called It’s Not The End of the World, is a joint initiative from CyberSafeKids and Irish Internet Hotline, supported by Community Foundation Ireland. It’s set to launch today (Tuesday 23rd June) and is designed to help young people understand what intimate image abuse actually is, what it looks like, and crucially — that support exists.

The figures are stark

In 2025, Irish Internet Hotline received 862 reports of intimate image abuse, up from 519 the previous year. Children and young people under 18 accounted for 13% of all cases. When you extend that to include those aged 18 to 24, nearly half of all reports involved young people aged 24 or under.

Of all reports received, 53% involved images that had already been shared without consent. The remaining 47% related to threats to share images — a distinction worth noting, because as Mick Moran, Chief Executive of Irish Internet Hotline, points out, the harm doesn’t wait for an image to go public.

“The fear, humiliation, and psychological harm caused by threats to share intimate images can be devastating for young people, even if the images are never posted publicly,” he said. “Young people need to understand that sharing or threatening to share intimate images is abuse, and it is illegal. It is also important to know that if it happens to you, you are not alone.”

The majority of cases — 70% — occurred on websites other than social media or mainstream platforms, which might surprise parents who assume the big apps are the main battleground. A further 26% occurred on social networking platforms, with the rest spread across image hosting sites, forums and video streaming services.

For cases involving publicly accessible imagery, Irish Internet Hotline achieved a 96% removal rate in 2025 — and 211 cases were referred to An Garda Síochána at the reporter’s request.

Why this campaign matters for parents

Since Coco’s Law was introduced in 2021 — making the non-consensual sharing of intimate images a criminal offence in Ireland — reports have risen steadily year on year. Awareness is growing, but so is the problem.

Alex Cooney, CEO of CyberSafeKids, knows this reality well. “Over the years we’ve taken calls from distressed parents whose children’s intimate images had been shared — and too often, they hadn’t been given the right advice,” she said. “We also know that for many young people, sharing intimate images is seen as normal. It isn’t, and we have to challenge that head-on.”

That’s the heart of what It’s Not The End of the World is trying to do. The campaign will include a free downloadable guide with advice, help and resources for children and young people, along with three short videos highlighting difficult real-world scenarios young people may face. Campaign posters will also be displayed in all An Garda Síochána stations in Cork as part of a localised focus.

For parents, this is less about panic and more about opening a door. These aren’t conversations that need to be heavy or formal — they just need to happen. Knowing that your teenager understands what abuse looks like online, and that they won’t be judged if something goes wrong, could make an enormous difference.

What you can do right now

From Tuesday 23rd June, the campaign and its resources will be available at www.cybersafekids.ie/not-the-end. The free guide is a genuinely useful starting point — both for having a conversation with your teen and for knowing what steps to take if something does happen.

If you or your child needs to report intimate image abuse now, it can be done quickly, confidentially and securely through Irish Internet Hotline’s reporting portal at www.hotline.ie.

Denise Charlton, Chief Executive of Community Foundation Ireland, described the campaign as offering “leadership, guidance, and support, often in moments when young people feel traumatised and alone.” She added that it aims to “spark conversations at home, in youth clubs, classrooms, and workplaces” — which is exactly where this kind of awareness needs to land.

It’s one of those topics that can feel uncomfortable to bring up at the dinner table. But the data tells us clearly that it’s a conversation worth having.