The fashion store accused of promoting potentially illegal behaviour and putting pressure on teenage girls to send naked selfies has backed down after a campaign launched by the president of Girls' Brigade England and Wales.
Missguided's store in the giant Bluewater shopping centre caused outrage when it put up a neon sign saying 'Send me nudes'.
A petition calling for its removal was launched by Rachel Gardner and soon attracted thousands of signatures. It said the sign 'legitimises the culture of sexual coercion that teenage girls and young women experience daily'.
However, Gardner told Christian Today she had received an email from Missguided saying the sign had been covered and would be removed today.
'The complaints team said that as a company they were about empowering women,' she said.
Gardner said the company had been responsive to the petition and had acted responsibly in taking the sign down, but that she would seek a meeting with the chief executive to discuss issues of women's empowerment further.
She said there were powerful comments shared on the petition site which indicated the need for the issue to be taken seriously.
Among the comments posted was one by Rachel W, who said: 'Send Me Nudes isn't something I ever want my daughter to read and feel obliged to respond to. She's kind, clever, funny and has so much more to offer the world than a naked selfie. This sign is disempowering, disrespectful and dangerous.'
An NSPCC spokesperson said: 'Sharing nude selfies can put young people at risk of bullying by peers or being targeted by adult sex offenders, so it's vital that parents talk to their children and that young people feel empowered to say no to sexting requests.
'We realise that talking about sexting can be an embarrassing or awkward conversation for both parents and children. The NSPCC has created a guide for parents to help them talk to their children about the risks of sexting, what the law says, and what to do if their child has shared a nude image that is being circulated online or among their peers. Visit nspcc.org.uk/sexting for advice on protecting children.'
Missguided did not respond to requests for comment.
