As every single person knows, navigating through the minefield that is dating in the 21st century is no easy feat. Whether you like it or not, apps that are meant to make dating easier, such as Tinder and Bumble, sadly also carry the risk of unwelcome and distressing interactions.

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Random and unsolicited sending of sexual images or videos from men to young women, notoriously referred to as “dick pics”, is all too common. Even if you haven’t unwillingly received a picture of a man’s genitalia, then you most probably know someone who has. In fact, with technology infiltrating every aspect of our private lives, this unwelcome input from male strangers has become so normal that – just like wolf-whistling on the street – it is frequently ignored and brushed off and, in some cases, even laughed about. But sending unsolicited sexual images is not a joke. It is violating behaviour that cannot be tolerated and should never be normalised.

This is why we should welcome the call by a group of MPs in parliament this week to take stronger measures in tackling the sending of unsolicited sexual images and viewing of pornography in public. It is absolutely necessary and long overdue. Much like upskirting and revenge porn – both issues that are either already a statutory offence or under review by the government – the non-consensual distribution of sexual images should result in serious consequences for the offender.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘If society normalises this behaviour, then women may brush off a stranger rubbing up against them on the dancefloor.’ Photograph: Alamy

A large number of the victims of such cases are women and girls. In the UK, 41% of women aged 18 to 36 have reportedly received non-consensual sexual images, of whom 23% said they found it distressing and 17% said they felt threatened. Flashing your naked body on the street is indecent exposure – so why should it be excused online? It seems that, swiping left and right, posting pictures and communicating online seems to makes it easy to forget that the internet provides a sense of separation from what is real and what isn’t – often emboldening men to do or say things they would never consider in person.

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I don’t care whether you’re sending your picture as an ill-advised effort to flirt, or worse, a deliberate attempt to scare and intimidate, by forcing someone into a sexual situation with an unsolicited picture, you are reasserting the patriarchal idea that we, as women, are always ready to accept your direct invitation to sex. And if society normalises this behaviour at such a young age – almost half (46%) of all receiving women were sent their first sexual images by the young age of 18 – then women may simply brush off inappropriate texts after a night out or a stranger rubbing up against them on the dancefloor.

Just because somewhere along the line we have mistakenly learned that these behaviours are normal, doesn’t make them acceptable. And just because technology offers the appearance that you’re protected behind a veil, doesn’t mean that the men behind it shouldn’t be found out.

The rise of online dating apps, combined with inconsistent punishment of such offences, creates a hotbed for sexual violations against women. Men need to learn that these behaviours are not normal, that they are not and never will be acceptable. The rate at which sexual online interactions and the sending of unsolicited pictures is increasing makes it even more important to put a reliable and functioning system in place that protects victims, and clearly communicates the punishment for perpetrators.

This is not just about a “harmless” dick pic. It is about the sexual harassment that women face online every day and the circumstances around which that is made normal. It is about giving victims the power and agency not only to file a complaint and have something done about it, but also to stand up to their harassers and regain control in a world that tells us that consent doesn’t matter.

• Sophia Ankel is a freelance journalist