'Coronation Street' teenager Asha Alahan is to be at the centre of hard-hitting storyline that deals with the sharing of sexual material.
Asha and Dev
Asha - who is the 14-year-old daughter of Weatherfield businessman Dev Alahan - will see her world rocked after her teen crush Corey Brent betrays her trust by taking a screenshot of a sexual video of her without her permission while they are video chatting and then shares it online.
The ITV soap has worked with the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) on the plot which the charity says is typical of hundreds of teenagers across the UK with many seeking out support from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and its confidential helpline service Childline.
Senior policy officer Alana Ryan consulted with writers and producers on the soap and 17-year-old actress Tanisha Gorey who plays Asha to ensure the storyline, which runs from Wednesday April 15, is portrayed as accurately and responsibly as possible.
Alana said: "We know that a third of all child sexual abuse is perpetrated by peers and this includes non-contact offences, such as the taking and sharing of sexual images without consent.
"When working with the team at 'Coronation Street', we really wanted to ensure young viewers understood that taking and sharing photos without permission is never acceptable.
"We also hoped to use the script to highlight how we all have a shared responsibility to support someone who has been the victim of non-consensual sexual image sharing."
The NSPCC previously worked with 'Corrie' on the Bethany Platt grooming storyline and the organisation has a long-standing relationship with the soap, with writers often approaching the charity to read draft scripts and storylines relevant to child protection or issues brought to Childline by young people across the country.
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