If we are to live in a free society, teenagers must be allowed to sext one another

People who are old enough to have sex are being branded sex offenders for sending nude selfies, and it's seriously damaging their lives

A teenage girl uses her smartphone in bed. (VOISIN/PHANIE/REX)

When laws enacted to protect children from abuse end up ruining ordinary teenagers’ lives, you can't help but think: what on earth is going on?

Despite the age of consent being 16, British legislation says that sexually explicit images of anyone under 18 is "indecent" and against the law. This means that a 16-year-old who takes a nude picture of themselves is guilty of creating an indecent image of a child – and in some cases can be branded sex offenders.

For young people however, "sexting" is a safer and easier way for them to express themselves with their partners. According to one study, some teenagers have found it as a useful way to get round religious restrictions on sexual contact, or shyness. And if they're legally old enough to have sex in real life, then why shouldn't this be an option?

For some reason I can't even begin to understand, the authorities don't see it this way. And this can have terrible consequences. I provide pro bono legal advice for Backlash, a sexual freedom campaign group. This is how I came to learn about Alison and Peter (whose names I have changed). Alison, 17, was threatened with being criminalised and put on the sex offenders’ register, all because she shared photos of herself with her boyfriend. There was no pressure or coercion, and as her own mother put it, "they were just having a bit of fun”.

The charges against Alison were eventually dropped, but the damage had already been done. “I'm so stressed," said Alison at the time. "We didn't know it was illegal, [and now] I'm finding it hard to have any sexual intimacy as every time we start I just remember the detective leering at me and judging me during the interview, as if I'd behaved in a completely immoral way." She added: "I chose to send pictures of myself to Peter. I did not choose for all those detectives, solicitors and goodness knows who else to see them. I keep imagining them looking and laughing and it makes me feel physically sick.”

And she's not only the teenage "sexter" to be treated in this way. These are well-intentioned laws that are meant to protect the most vulnerable people in our society. But the only form of abuse these people are suffering has come from the criminal justice system.

Politicians promise to protect children, but who is protecting teenagers from the blunt force of the state? We need a new legal regime that targets genuine abusers rather than shaming teenagers. The government doesn't belong in our bedrooms, and if someone is old enough to consent, it should get its nose out of our sexts too.

To read more about the Backlash campaign: http://www.backlash-uk.org.uk/major-political-parties-fail-to-halt-mass-criminalisation-of-young-people/

To read more from Myles Jackman you can visit his blog: http://mylesjackman.com/index.php/my-blog/112-don-t-criminalise-the-selfie-generation