YMCA DownsLink Group

Author: Anthony Irtelli

  • OnlyFans: What is it and how does it affect young people?

    OnlyFans: What is it and how does it affect young people?

    OnlyFans has recently been talked about in the news, which may leave you wondering what it is and how it affects young people. OnlyFans is a British subscription site, similar to social media platforms such as Instagram, the difference being that users pay to access content, for example you might pay to access a popular yoga influencer’s video. However, during the pandemic the site became popular for selling explicit and pornographic videos. Popular celebrities such as Love Island contestants endorsed OnlyFans on other social media sites normalising the selling of explicit content to their younger followers, who may not consider the potential risks involved.  OnlyFans is failing to prevent underage users from selling and appearing in explicit videos, a BBC investigation has found. We asked one of our WiSE ambassadors to write a blog explaining OnlyFans in more detail.

     

    • It is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to use OnlyFans or engage in any form of online sex work. If you suspect anyone is in immediate danger, call the Police on 999. If a child or young person is currently at risk of significant harm from Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE), refer immediately to your local Children’s Services.

    What is OnlyFans?

    Lily Harvey, YMCA WiSE Ambassador writes: You may have heard the term OnlyFans thrown around on social media or by young people alongside the perhaps more confusing description of “being an accountant”. But what is it, and how are the two related?

    In simple terms, OnlyFans is a social media site where creators hide their content behind a pay wall, meaning that fans can pay either a one-off fee or a subscription to access an influencer’s content. So, for example, this means that a fitness guru can create videos of at-home workout routines which their fans must pay to access. They would then promote these workout videos on their other social media platforms, encouraging their following to purchase their content.

    Alongside fitness fanatics, the site is used by artists, chefs, and beauty bloggers alike, but it is perhaps the largest group; sex workers it is most well known for. In fact, “having an OnlyFans” has almost become synonymous with doing online sex work.

    As you can imagine as people are staying home more, OnlyFans use has risen. This is something that we noticed as YMCA WiSE ambassadors when promotion of OnlyFans content and discussions around the site’s use started creeping into our social media feeds. This widespread promotion on social media means that sex work has been presented to young people perhaps more casually than ever before, making it seem more accessible – whether that’s as a full-time gig, or side-hustle to earn some extra cash. This normalisation of using OnlyFans means that young people may not consider the potential risks involved.


    It’s fairly common knowledge online what OnlyFans is, and the basics of what are involved, but it is more unclear how sustainable or safe it really is watching from the outside.

    As ambassadors we wanted to produce a neutral resource which would help young people considering starting up an OnlyFans to think about whether online sex work on was suitable for them and help them to identify the risks and weigh up all the options. We created a workbook and some Instagram content centred around how someone’s safety, independence, income, and confidence might change while being a sex worker on OnlyFans, or not.


    If you’d like to take a look for yourself, you can see our Instagram post here.

    I’m sure you still have one question. What has this all got to do with being an accountant? And the answer is simple, especially if you’ve spent a lot of time on TikTok. Telling someone you’re an accountant has become a cover up for being a sex worker. The hope is that being an accountant is so impossibly boring that whoever is asking about your job will drop it. So, if someone tells you they’re an accountant, maybe they are an OnlyFans sex worker that uses TikTok, and they don’t want to talk about it:

    “What do you do?” I’m an accountant
    “Where do you work?” At a place where accountants work
    “Do you like your job?” Yes, I like my job, and my job is an accountant

    • It is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to use OnlyFans or engage in any form of online sex work. If you suspect anyone is in immediate danger, call the Police on 999. If a child or young person is currently at risk of significant harm from CSE, refer immediately to your local Children’s Services.

    We hope this resource is helpful in both learning about what OnlyFans is and how to consider some of the pros and cons of using an online platform like OnlyFans.

    If you are worried about yourself, a friend, your child or a child or young person with whom you are working, select the tab that matches who you are and you’ll find more information, advice and help on this page: https://staging.ymcadlg.org/what-we-do/support-and-advice/wise/

  • Thought for the Week: Eid Mubarak!

    Thought for the Week: Eid Mubarak!

    Our West Sussex Chaplain, Samantha Burton, shares her thought for the week on the Eid ul-Fitr celebrations, marking the end of the Muslim festive Ramadan.

    This week/today sees our Muslim friends, both in this country and around the world, marking the end of the Month of fasting and prayer that is Ramadan, with the Eid ul-Fitr celebrations. This is usually a great occasion, bringing together families and friends in joyful celebration, with food, donations to the poor and those in need, and sometimes small gifts (like sweets) to the children and closest family.

    This year, as with last, things may be somewhat muted, families may be more restricted from large gatherings, but there will still be celebrations, good food, and a rejoicing in closer relationships that often come from a month of prayer and fasting together.

    Fasting – I admire anyone, of any religion, Muslim, Jew, and Christian to name a few, who practices this discipline, I can’t go a couple of hours without feeling hungry! But it does make me wonder, if I already am appreciative of good food, how much better must it taste after fasting for a month? And how much less would it be taken for granted…

    This week, this celebration, has made me reflect on our own fasting in the past year – out of necessity and good communal responsibility, many of us have been fasting, if not from food, but from meeting friends, going to the pub, dinners out, holidays abroad, work (where furlough and job losses are concerned) and, most keenly felt for me, from hugs and social contact with people we know and love.

    Some of these things are tentatively coming back as we ease out of lockdown, but how much has this time really focused our priorities, our needs, and our desires? How much more are we appreciative of our friends, close relatives, partners, whom many have missed so much in the past year? Our young residents too have had to put regular meet ups with family or friends on hold, and we know how isolating that has been for them. I know some who are seeing their family members for the first time in 7-8 months next week and will be exchanging Christmas presents! A long overdue time of ‘feasting’ for them.

    So to all our Muslim friends and colleagues and young people with whom we interact, we wish ‘Eid Mubarak’!

  • Mental Health Awareness Week with e-wellbeing and YMCA Right Here

    Mental Health Awareness Week with e-wellbeing and YMCA Right Here

    This week is Mental Health Awareness Week (10 May to 14 May), which focuses on the importance of looking after our mental health and wellbeing. The theme for 2021 is nature.

    During the pandemic at a time of high social isolation, many of us including our young people turned to nature to support emotional health and wellbeing. It is no surprise that being connected to nature can help reduce stress and anxiety, but also increases creativity, empathy, a sense of vitality and freedom. Research from the Mental Health Foundation showed ‘going for walks outside’ was one of the top coping strategies respondents fed back as being vital for their mental health.

    We  are excited to be supporting this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week following the nature theme. Our e-wellbeing and YMCA Right Here youth ambassadors, staff and advocates will be spending more time outdoors and sharing images on their social media to encourage others to do the same throughout this week and beyond.

    For tips, advice and tools to support young people’s emotional health and wellbeing, go to: www.e-wellbeing.co.uk.

  • Championing mental health with YMCA Right Here and e-wellbeing ambassadors

    Championing mental health with YMCA Right Here and e-wellbeing ambassadors

    With lockdown restrictions easing, and we slowly transition into the new normal, young people’s emotional health and mental wellbeing has never been more important than it is now.

    In this video we hear from some of e-wellbeing and YMCA Right Here’s youth volunteers as they share why they got involved and continue to proudly volunteer as mental health advocates in their local communities.

    If it wasn’t for amazing young people like Josh, Mali, Phoebe, Jordan, Jacobina and Annabel, championing youth mental health awareness, and giving back to our charity – YMCA DownsLink Group would not be able to provide the essential youth services we do today.

    For more information, head to: www.e-wellbeing.co.uk/getinvolved and for tips, advice and tools to support young people’s emotional health and wellbeing, go to: www.e-wellbeing.co.uk.

  • Stephen Lawrence Day – A Legacy for Change

    Stephen Lawrence Day – A Legacy for Change

    Today, Thursday 22 April, is Stephen Lawrence Day. The date was first marked in 2019 and takes place annually on the date of Stephen’s death as a celebration of Stephen’s life and legacy. Stephen was killed in an unprovoked racially motivated attack whilst waiting for a bus in Eltham, South London, on the evening of 22 April 1993. The subsequent botched police investigation, which enabled the perpetrators to walk free, led to the 1999 Macpherson Report which found that the Metropolitan Police Service was ‘institutionally racist’. The ongoing campaign by his family also led to a significant change in the law which finally saw two of the suspects convicted for his murder.

    Taken from the website: www.stephenlawrenceday.org/

    “Stephen Lawrence Day is about the part we all play in creating a society in which everyone can flourish.

    It is an opportunity for children and young people to have their voices heard, make the changes they’d like to see and create a society that treats everyone with fairness and respect.  Through Stephen Lawrence Day we want young people to be inspired about what they can achieve in their own lives. We want them to get involved in creating the kind of community they want to live in and we want them to have a strong voice in building a fairer and more inclusive society.”

    As a children and young person’s charity we would like to encourage you to think about how you can get involved. Take a look at this page for ideas: https://stephenlawrenceday.org/community/get-involved/

     

  • The YMCA DownsLink Challenge is here!

    The YMCA DownsLink Challenge is here!

    Introducing the YMCA DownsLink Challenge!

    Every night we provide a safe home to over 750 young people in your community. Each and everyone has faced serious challenges in their lives.

    This summer on Saturday July 17th, we’re asking you to step out with us to help put young people experiencing homelessness back on the path to independence.

    Walk or run 16 miles along our namesake, the Downs Link pathway, from Horsham to Shoreham-by-Sea or do it in your own space (we have some great suggestions for walks in your area)!

    After a really challenging time for so many, this is a great opportunity to get your family, friends or colleagues together and boost your mental health and wellbeing out in stunning countryside.

    To find out more and secure your place, click here.