Nonconsensual Porn as a Form of Intimate Partner Violence: Using the Power and Control Wheel to Understand Nonconsensual Porn Perpetration in Intimate Relationships

Abstract

Over the last decade, nonconsensual porn (NCP), or the sharing of sexually explicit material without a person’s consent, has become a growing problem with potentially far-reaching adverse consequences for victims. The purpose of this article is to propose and consider a framework for advancing the field’s understanding of NCP within the context of intimate relationships including situating NCP relative to other forms of relational abuse. Specifically, we examined the extent to which NCP in intimate partner relationships was perpetrated using tactics from the Power and Control Wheel through a summative content analysis of U.S. news stories on NCP from 2012 to 2017. This analysis established that NCP has been perpetrated using all eight of the abuse metatactics in the Power and Control Wheel, with the three most common being emotional abuse, coercion and threats, and denial/blame/minimization. Treating NCP in relationships as a potential form of partner violence provides a basis on which to understand the etiology, manifestation, motives, and impact of this form of abuse and informs practitioners’ ability to design prevention efforts and engage a trauma-informed response to survivors.

The Psychology of Nonconsensual Porn: Understanding and Addressing a Growing Form of Sexual Violence

“…This review recognized NCP as a form of gender-based violence that should be considered on a continuum of sexual abuse (Walker & Sleath, 2017). Consistent with this depiction, one psychological framework used to understand NCP was the Power and Control Wheel (Eaton et al, 2020), which describes tactics abusers employ to maintain power and control over victims. In an analysis of 5 years of published U.S. news articles on NCP, Eaton and colleagues (2020) concluded that NCP has been perpetrated in intimate relationships using all eight of the abuse metatactics in the Power and Control Wheel, with the three most common being emotional abuse, coercion and threats, and denial/blame/minimization.…”

Sexual Interaction in Digital Contexts and Its Implications for Sexual Health: A Conceptual Analysis

“…recording and sharing of their sexual interactions are vulnerable for consent violations in the form of wide circulation of the material against their will (so-called "revenge porn"; Eaton et al, 2020) or consent violations in the form of pressured or unwanted activities in front of the camera (Boyle, 2011).…”

“…Some individuals and couples digitally document and share their sexual activities just out of curiosity and fun ( Schwarz, 2010 ), while others do it with commercial interest in a more or less professionalized form ( Hofer, 2014 ), still trying to express authenticity ( Stardust, 2019 ). Users involved in either non-commercial or commercial digital recording and sharing of their sexual interactions are vulnerable for consent violations in the form of wide circulation of the material against their will (so-called “revenge porn”; Eaton et al, 2020 ) or consent violations in the form of pressured or unwanted activities in front of the camera ( Boyle, 2011 ).…”

“…Involvement in sexual interaction through digital technologies could reduce sexual isolation, improve sexual satisfaction and provide validation of one’s own sexual identity ( Hobbs et al, 2017 ), however, at the same time it is related to risks of sexual harassment or infidelity, addiction-like usage patterns and increased consumer mentality toward sexual partners ( Couch et al, 2012 ; Choi et al, 2017 ). Consent turned out to be a key mediator as non-consensual interactions were linked to negative ( Eaton et al, 2020 ) and consensual interactions to positive outcomes ( Lemke and Merz, 2018 ). Consent is relevant in that regard not only for non-commercial, but also for commercial interactions: While the possibility to advertise own sexual services online has been economically beneficial for many sex workers ( Mergenthaler and Yasseri, 2021 ), both private and commercial users are exposed to the risks of their intimate data being misused ( Beckham and Prohaska, 2012 ; Greene-Colozzi et al, 2020 ).…”

If i Go There Will Be Trouble, If i Stay There Will Be Double: Revenge Porn, Domestic Violence, and Family Offenses

“…13 Revenge porn affects women at higher rates than men, with one study by the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative finding that women were 1.5 times more likely to be victims of revenge porn than men. 14 Nonconsensual pornography is "the distribution of sexually graphic images of individuals without their consent … as well as images originally obtained with consent, usually within the context of a private or confidential relationship." 15 Revenge porn is a phrase often used interchangeably with nonconsensual pornography.…”