the national police withdraw a tweet of prevention after an outcry on the social networks

“Sending a nude is agreeing to take the risk of seeing this shared photo.” This sentence posted by the national police in a tweet accompanying a prevention campaign against “sexting” caused an outcry on social networks, Saturday March 6, pushing the police to quickly delete his message, deemed guilty.

“He received your nude. Your friends, your parents, your classmates, your cousins, your teachers, your neighbors, your baker, your ex-boyfriend, your postman, your grandparents, your niece too”, proclaimed the visual posted by the police, urging young people not to indulge in this widespread practice.

The “sexting” consists in sending a photo of oneself (or of a part of one’s body) naked to an interlocutor, for example his or her boyfriend (e). The communication campaign intended to warn against the risk that these images fall into the wrong hands or may be disclosed by their recipient for the purpose of revenge after a relationship that escalates (“revenge porn”).

The message received an icy reception on Twitter, where many users denounced the guilt of the perpetrators of sexting rather than that of the people who divulged them. Feminist activist Caroline De Haas and MEP Aurore Lalucq notably reacted.

Delete.
The guilt of the victims is no.@WeAllOrg

– Caroline De Haas (@carolinedehaas) March 6, 2021

Do not confuse victim and culprit.
Sending a nude is not a crime.
Posting an image without the person’s consent is.
This is where pedagogy and communication would be very useful @National Police. https://t.co/i0pup0C0Nj

– Aurore Lalucq (@AuroreLalucq) March 6, 2021

Some Internet users have reposted the visual of the national police by parodying it, while others have underlined the very different campaign published a few weeks ago by another institution: the national gendarmerie.

I corrected your shit there @National Police ! pic.twitter.com/WvKMjHDTlP

– Ana (@AnaVDLB) March 6, 2021

To raise awareness (intelligently) without putting the potential victim in a “it’s your fault” situation, another public security institution did this: https://t.co/VB0ft5zUOK

– Pierre Lefébure (@pierrelefebure) March 6, 2021

The national police recognized “an awkwardness”. “We never carry the idea that the victims could be responsible for the situation they undergo”, she defended herself.