Kovacevic said that young people sometimes share intimate photos with other people not out of naivety, but out of a need for acceptance, love and attention that they may lack in their real environment and which has left them vulnerable to manipulation and abuse.
“I believe that most young people are not fully aware of all the risks involved in sending intimate photos or explicit content, even when they are sent to a person with whom they are currently in a relationship,” Kovacevic told BIRN.
“Such behaviour is often perceived among young people as an expression of trust, closeness or even as ‘normal’ behaviour in partner relationships. However, what is often missing is a deeper understanding of the long-term consequences and potential dangers that such actions can bring.”
Police in Republika Srpska said they had received “several” complaints concerning the use of ‘undress’ or ‘nudify’ apps.
“In the specific cases, the victims were not children, but adult women between the ages of 19 and 30,” said Olivije Zimonja, head of the police High-Tech Crime Unit. “Photographs in swimsuits that were publicly published on victims’ social media accounts were used.”
The problem, however, is much more widespread than the figures suggest, Zimonja told BIRN, citing a fear of stigmatisation that keeps many victims from reporting such abuse.
“This is supported by the fact that on the internet you can find photos of children and adults from our area without clothes on,” Zimonja said.
Republika Srpska enacted changes to the law in August 2023 to address the phenomenon of AI-generated explicit content; the Federation amended its own criminal code in July this year to recognise the publication of AI-generated explicit content as a criminal offence.
Child psychologist Klaudija Ribic warned that AI-powered ‘undress’ applications can expose young people to manipulated sexualised images of themselves, which can heighten feelings of shame and inferiority and put them at risk of blackmail and abuse, particularly during adolescence.
“Often, such events in children and young people cause feelings of guilt, shame, but also distrust of people, as well as insecurity when engaging in any peer relationships in the future,” Ribic told BIRN.
Education is the best prevention, she said, not only for children but also their parents, teachers and other adult figures in their lives.
Ribic said parents have a responsibility to monitor the content that younger children are exposed to, as children can often do something reckless out of curiosity and immaturity.
“It is especially important to educate adults, because we tend to believe that such things don’t happen to us, that they happen to someone else.”
First and foremost, the victim must not feel that he or she is being judged.
“It is especially important to avoid sentences like: ‘It’s your own fault for sending such a photo,’” Ribic said. “This further traumatises the person.”
Popovic, from UNICEF, said the threat may rise as the technology advances.
“AI is also expanding the means of victimisation,” she said. “Adults must also be aware of the danger, as well as the mechanisms of protection. So the first thing to do is to have an honest conversation with them [their children] and to report any attempted abuse.”
