Image-Based Sexual Abuse: Social and Legal Implications

Abstract

Widely referred to as either “revenge porn” or “nonconsensual sharing of sexual imagery,” image-based sexual abuse targets millions of people around the world and causes much harm. This article covers the current state of social scientific knowledge on this key variant of digitized sexual violence and suggests new directions in empirical work. A rapidly growing body of research shows that image-based sexual abuse is committed mainly by men against women and it often co-occurs with offline forms of male-to-female assaults like rape, stalking, and beatings. Additionally, to further understand the scope of factors that contribute to the problems of online image-based sexual abuse online, researchers should examine the relationship between image-based sexual abuse and pornography consumption. Future studies should be specially designed to test theories that prioritize the concepts of gender, power, control, and patriarchy. Further, despite the creation of new legislation aimed at curbing image-based sexual abuse, the criminal justice system’s response has, thus far, been woefully inadequate. Hence, additional means of prevention and control are necessary. A multidisciplinary approach may involve mental health and sexual wellness awareness campaigns that include ethical behaviors in a digital space. Also, clinical assessment and treatment may be part of creating long-term changes at individual, interpersonal, and societal levels with psychosexual education that investigates core beliefs and harmful operating systems that facilitate image-based sexual abuse. Moreover, testing and providing empirically validated treatments for those who experienced sexual trauma and those who perpetrated and consumed digitized sexual abuse are warranted.