Education & Prevention

The Shield Initiative

Three steps. One mission. Protecting the next child.

The Shield Initiative is an education and prevention program developed by the Bryce Tate Memorial Foundation to help students recognize and respond to sextortion and online exploitation.

Built around three simple steps — Stop. Screenshot. Show Someone. — the program is designed to give students an action they can remember in a moment of fear or panic.

The program is currently undergoing professional review and refinement, with plans to partner with pilot schools to evaluate awareness, understanding, and retention.

Three Steps. One Mission.

Stop

Don't comply. Don't panic.

The moment a predator makes a demand, stop. Do not send more images. Do not send money. Complying does not make it end — it makes it worse. You have not done anything wrong.

Screenshot

Preserve the evidence.

Screenshot every message, profile, and demand. Do not delete anything. This documentation is critical for law enforcement and will help investigators act quickly.

Show Someone

Tell a trusted adult immediately.

Tell a parent, guardian, school counselor, or trusted adult right away. You are not alone and you are not in trouble. The person who did this to you is the one who broke the law.

Why This Program Exists

50,000+

financially motivated sextortion reports to NCMEC in 2025 — up from 36,000 in 2024

75,000

sextortion complaints filed with the FBI in 2025, up from 55,000 the year before

137/day

average number of sextortion reports received by NCMEC every single day in 2025

These are only the reported cases. Experts believe the true number is far higher — most victims never come forward.

Sextortion is one of the fastest-growing threats facing young people online. Most victims suffer in silence because they don't know what to do — or they're too afraid to ask for help. The Shield Initiative exists to change that.

Bring the Shield Initiative to Your School

We are actively seeking pilot school partners to help us evaluate and refine the program. If you're an educator or administrator who wants to get ahead of this threat, we want to hear from you.