Image-based sexual abuse & nonconsensual pornography (aka “revenge porn”)
Image-based sexual abuse and nonconsensual pornography are forms of sexual abuse that largely refer to incidents in which intimate images are taken or shared—or threatened to be shared—without consent.
Nonconsensual pornography can also include incidents of individuals being coerced into producing explicit content.
Disturbingly, an estimated 1 in 12 U.S. adults report that they have been victims of image-based sexual abuse, and even more disturbingly, 1 in 20 report that they have been perpetrators of image-based sexual abuse.Ruvalcaba, Y., & Eaton, A. A. (2020). Nonconsensual pornography among U.S. adults: A sexual scripts framework on victimization, perpetration, and health correlates for women and men. Psychology of Violence, 10(1), 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000233Copy
According to one report, approximately 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 10 boys aged 13-17 report sharing their nudes, and 1 in 3 underage teens report having seen nonconsensually shared nudes of other minors.Thorn. (2020). Thorn research: Understanding sexually explicit images, self-produced by children. Retrieved from https://www.thorn.org/blog/thorn-research-understanding-sexually-explicit-images-self-produced-by-children/Copy
Longitudinal research shows that porn consumers report a greater willingness to share sexts without consent.van Oosten, Johanna M. F., & Vandenbosch, L. (2020). Predicting the willingness to engage in non-consensual forwarding of sexts: The role of pornography and instrumental notions of sex. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(4), 1121-1132. doi:10.1007/s10508-019-01580-2Copy
Unfortunately, image-based sexual abuse and nonconsensual pornography are increasingly common issues on porn sites. Most porn sites do not verify age or consent, meaning virtually anyone can post anything—including image-based sexual abuse.
In fact, there have been many documented instances of verified accounts posting nonconsensual content or even child sexual abuse material on porn sites.BBC News. (2020). GirlsDoPorn: Young women win legal battle over video con. BBC. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50982051Copy ParlVu. (2021). Meeting no. 20 ETHI— Standing committee on access to information, privacy and ethics. Retrieved from https://parlvu.parl.gc.ca/Harmony/en/PowerBrowser/PowerBrowserV2/20210219/-1/34789?Language=English&Stream=VideoCopy
As one victim of image-based sexual abuse said, ‘The videos of me being on Pornhub have affected my life. It has affected my life to the point where I no longer leave my house. I stopped being able to work just because I was too scared to be out in public around other people. And I feel like everyone who looks at me has seen those videos.”
Many victims of image-based sexual abuse feel powerless, helpless, or even suicidal. Research indicates that victims of image-based abuse often experience severe and disruptive mental health effects, including PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Bates, S. (2017). Revenge Porn and Mental Health: A Qualitative Analysis of the Mental Health Effects of Revenge Porn on Female Survivors. Feminist Criminology, 12(1), 22–42. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557085116654565Copy
If you have experienced sexual abuse of any form, please know that you’re not alone. There are resources available to help you.
For more information about how to combat image-based sexual abuse, read this.
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Most kids today are exposed to porn by the age of 12. By the time they’re teenagers, 75% of boys and 70% of girls have already viewed itRobb, M.B., & Mann, S. (2023). Teens and pornography. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense.Copy —often before they’ve had a single healthy conversation about it.
Even more concerning: over half of boys and nearly 40% of girls believe porn is a realistic depiction of sexMartellozzo, E., Monaghan, A., Adler, J. R., Davidson, J., Leyva, R., & Horvath, M. A. H. (2016). “I wasn’t sure it was normal to watch it”: A quantitative and qualitative examination of the impact of online pornography on the values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of children and young people. Middlesex University, NSPCC, & Office of the Children’s Commissioner.Copy . And among teens who have seen porn, more than 79% of teens use it to learn how to have sexRobb, M.B., & Mann, S. (2023). Teens and pornography. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense.Copy . That means millions of young people are getting sex ed from violent, degrading content, which becomes their baseline understanding of intimacy. Out of the most popular porn, 33%-88% of videos contain physical aggression and nonconsensual violence-related themesFritz, N., Malic, V., Paul, B., & Zhou, Y. (2020). A descriptive analysis of the types, targets, and relative frequency of aggression in mainstream pornography. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(8), 3041-3053. doi:10.1007/s10508-020-01773-0Copy Bridges et al., 2010, “Aggression and Sexual Behavior in Best-Selling Pornography Videos: A Content Analysis,” Violence Against Women.Copy .
From increasing rates of loneliness, depression, and self-doubt, to distorted views of sex, reduced relationship satisfaction, and riskier sexual behavior among teens, porn is impacting individuals, relationships, and society worldwideFight the New Drug. (2024, May). Get the Facts (Series of web articles). Fight the New Drug.Copy .
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