How should a school or youth service respond when intimate images, sextortion or AI deepfakes affect a student?

Information reviewed September 2026. Platforms, reporting tools, school policy and online-harm tactics can change quickly, so use the linked PEI or Canadian source when current steps matter.

Image-based abuse can involve real, edited or AI-generated images.

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection's 2026 school guidance explicitly addresses all three. Schools should respond in ways that prioritize the safety, dignity and wellbeing of the youth rather than dismissing an AI-generated image as fake.

Canadian Centre for Child Protection: Youth NCDII school guidance

Start with immediate safety and privacy.

• Move the student to a private setting.
• Assess threats, coercion, self-harm or suicide risk.
• Identify one staff lead so the student is not questioned repeatedly.
• Limit disclosure to staff who need the information to respond.
• Do not ask staff or students to circulate the intimate image.

Preserve the information that helps a report.

Record usernames, links, dates, account names and threatening messages where safe to do so. When sexual images of a minor are involved, seek guidance from Cybertip.ca or police about evidence rather than creating unnecessary copies.

Coordinate with the caregiver carefully.

Confirm who the child's caregiver or guardian is and whether there is any safety reason that affects contacting a parent. In kinship care, the day-to-day caregiver, legal decision-maker and parent may be different people.

Build a school safety plan when peers are involved.

PEI's cyberviolence strategy and PREVNet guidance both support coordinated school response. Consider classes, transportation, lunch, extracurricular activities, online peer groups, retaliation, rumours and which staff member will check in with the student.

Separate support from discipline.

The impacted student needs safety and recovery support regardless of what disciplinary process applies to another student. Do not make access to counselling, school attendance support or image-removal help depend on the outcome of an investigation.

Use the right Canadian service for the right problem.