“Snaps”, “screenshots”, and self-blame: A qualitative study of image-based sexual abuse victimization among adolescent Danish girls

Abstract

ABSTRACT Image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) refers to the nonconsensual production, dissemination or threat of disseminating private sexual images with the use of digital technologies. This study explores adolescent girls’ experiences of IBSA victimization based on a thematic analysis of 157 posts collected from an anonymous online counselling hotline in Denmark. The analysis shows that 104 of the 157 posts describe experiences of IBSA and that the psychological consequences of IBSA are characterized by negative emotions such as fear, worry, sadness, self-harm and suicidal thoughts. Furthermore, the analysis shows how the technological affordances of social media applications, such as the taking of screenshots on Snapchat, play an important role in facilitating the IBSA. Lastly, the study shows that 52 of the 104 adolescent girls, who had experienced IBSA, blamed themselves for their victimization, explaining this as a result of their own stupidity, naïveté and poor judgement. These findings are discussed in relation to the gendered victim blaming discourses on youth sexting, which have represented sexting teen girls as naïve and foolish and responsibilized them for the misuse of their images. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, and suggestions for future research are presented. Impact Summary Previous research on image-based sexual abuse victimization has found that the social and psychological consequences of having private sexual images shared nonconsensually are more negative for females than for males. This study shows that adolescent girls’ experiences of image-based sexual abuse are characterized by a range of negative emotions, including fear, sadness, worry and suicidal thoughts. Furthermore, over half of the adolescent girls blame themselves for their victimization. Based on these findings, it is suggested that parents focus on mitigating adolescents’ self-blame in relation to image-based sexual abuse. Interventions aimed at preventing these practices should seek to challenge victim blaming attitudes and focus on issues of privacy and consent.