Last month (September 2025) Technology Secretary Liz Kendall announced that the government will make cyberflashing a “priority offence” under the Online Safety Act.
This new escalation of offence is a welcome move towards strengthening existing measures to protect women and girls from online abuse.
In this blog we discuss the offence, the harm it causes and what you should do if you are cyberflashed.
What is ‘cyberflashing’?
Cyberflashing is when someone sends a photo of genitals without the recipient’s permission. It is sometimes called ‘dick pics’ or ‘flashing’.
They might do it to cause you distress or to embarrass you. It could also be for their own sexual pleasure without caring about how it makes you feel.
The law made it illegal to send unsolicited sexual images with intent to cause alarm, distress, or for sexual gratification. Perpetrators can face up to 2 years in prison.
Sadly, young people are bearing the brunt of this form of sexual assault, with a recent YouGov poll finding that one in three teenage girls aged 12-18 had received unsolicited pictures of male genitals at least once, compared to one in 20 boys of the same age.
Many of these harmful behaviours take place on private messaging groups. Social media platforms and dating apps will be required to take proactive steps to prevent users from seeing unsolicited nude images…
What impact can it have?
If someone deliberately exposes their genitals in person to frighten or upset someone, this is known as indecent exposure and it be reported to the police.
Victims of cyberflashing might feel anxiety, fear and feelings of distrust and violation. Or they might not feel alarmed or distressed at all. There’s no right or wrong way to feel, and there is help and support available to victims however they are impacted.
Andrea Simon, Director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), said:
“Cyberflashing has sadly become normalised, and we hope that making it a priority offence under the Online Safety Act will increase awareness and encourage action and meaningful consequences, so that it is no longer tolerated in society.”
What does this new ruling mean?
Last month’s announcement will put additional responsibilities on tech companies to proactively identify cyberflashing happening on their platforms. This means preventing it rather than reacting after it has already caused harm.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology states that some of the ways tech companies can tackle cyberflashing include using automated systems that pre-emptively detect and hide the image, implementing moderation tools or employing stricter content policies.
Under the laws, failing to proactively implement measures to protect users could lead to fines of up to 10% of the companies’ qualifying worldwide revenue and potentially blocking their services in the UK.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said:
“The internet should never be a breeding ground for harassment and violence. Through our Plan for Change, we are taking action to ensure it is a place where women and girls feel safe and empowered.”
Reporting Cyberflashing
Cyberflashing can happen to anyone. It is never your fault and you are not to blame. It happens both online and offline.
There is help and support available if you are the victim of cyberflashing or if you are the friend, carer of parent of someone who has been.
If you have been cyberflashed, it is crucial to report the incident to the appropriate authorities. Here are the steps you can take:
- Report to the police: You can report cyberflashing to the police by calling 101 or visiting a police station. They can provide a safe and comfortable environment for you to report the incident.
- Report to social media companies: If the cyberflashing occurred online, you can report it to the social media companies involved. They may have policies in place to address such incidents.
People who cyberflash can go on to commit more serious offences. The authorities will always take cyber flashing seriously and understand it takes courage to contact them. If you do not want to report the incident to the authorities there is support available from organisations like Home – Victim Support.
What can be done?
Greater awareness and education about the impact of cyberflashing is key to stopping this practice along with other online forms of male violence.
With our outreach work we are visiting schools and colleges to educate young people on quality relationships and sex education that is relevant to their lives in a digital age.
Our friends at the End Violence Against Women Coalition calls for this voluntary guidance to be made a mandatory Code of Practice with penalties for non-compliance with preventing harms such as cyberflashing, image-based sexual abuse and other forms of violence against women and girls. Regulatory requirements must cover all online platforms, rather than those with the highest reach or highest risk of harm, so that all women and girls are protected.