Samantha Smith

I never imagined I would see myself nearly naked on screen. But after posting an innocent photograph of myself on X, that’s exactly what I saw when I opened my computer over the weekend. X’s artificially intelligent chatbot, Grok, had been used to digitally remove my clothing. My face and body were warped into pornographic material for the pleasure of men. My face and body were warped into porn My first reaction was disbelief. The second, anger. The third, a sinking, slightly nauseating realisation that this problem isn’t going away. I was raised in a generation that was frequently lectured on the importance of social media safety. A stark warning was often repeated to us: 'The internet never forgets!

This week, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) published its long-awaited final report. It describes in harrowing detail the experiences of more than 7,300 victims and highlights the systemic failings of institutions in protecting children and addressing child sexual abuse (CSA) and child sexual exploitation (CSE). However, as with other similar inquiries that preceded it, many survivors fear that the findings and recommendations of the IICSA will be swept under the carpet. Child sexual abuse and exploitation takes many forms: from abuse within the family to group-based sexual exploitation or online grooming. The national crisis in child sexual abuse cannot be overstated.

After a tumultuous childhood and breakdown in family relationships, I ended up in the hands of social services. I remember my social worker dropping me off at the door of my emergency accommodation with a bag of clothes and little else. On my first day, while filling out my induction paperwork in the office, a staff member asked me: 'What’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?'. I was far too ‘nice’, he said, to be trapped in their prison-like environment. His comment perfectly summarises a common attitude within the social care system to the young people it was set up to help. This week, the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care released its final report, outlining the need for an urgent overhaul of the care system in England.

The world was turned upside down in 2020. Schools closed, shops shut, and planes were grounded as the global health crisis hit the world. The great institutions of our society seemed to crumble under the pressure of the pandemic. This was particularly the case for the UK’s education system, which is still failing students 18 months on. This morning, students will be receiving their A level grades, after a year of learning interrupted by constant lockdowns. I can sympathise with students this year – I experienced first-hand the devastation caused by last year’s A level algorithm fiasco. After the algorithm gave me a B, E and U, I was rejected by both my first and second choice universities.

Last year, after the cancellation of exams and the ensuing A Level results fiasco, which saw thousands of students downgraded by an algorithm, the Government promised this would never happen again. They asked students to put their faith in a system that had failed them once before, and guaranteed that lessons would be learnt. Yet, one year later, young people are being put in yet another impossible position by the education system. Despite earlier assurances from the Education Secretary that exams would not be cancelled this year, teacher-assessed grades will end up deciding the fate of the class of 2020/21. That will create its own set of problems for many students.

I was homeless at 16, and sofa-surfed throughout my A-Levels. Despite my circumstances, I worked hard and now hold offers from some of the best universities in the country — Cardiff being my firm choice — to study law. Yet I’m terrified that because this year's results won't be based on exams but on predicted grades, I will miss out without ever having had a chance to prove myself. Hearing about the fiasco in Scotland — where thousands of pupils got worse grades than they were expecting — has only made me more concerned. While those in younger years may be celebrating the longest summer holiday in modern British history, my fellow Year 13s and I haven’t seen much cause for celebration.