Perpetration of Image-Based Sexual Abuse: Extent, Nature and Correlates in a Multi-Country Sample

Abstract

Image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) is a form of technology-facilitated abuse in which intimate (nude or sexual) images of a person are taken, distributed, or threats are made to distribute the images, without a person’s consent. It is an increasingly criminalized form of sexual abuse, and yet little is known about the perpetrators of these harms, including the extent, relational nature and correlates of perpetration. This article reports on the first multi-country survey study to comprehensively investigate IBSA perpetration. An online panel survey of the general community (aged 16–64 years) in the United Kingdom (UK), Australia, and New Zealand (NZ) ( n = 6109) found that self-reported IBSA perpetration was relatively common, with one in six (17.5%, n = 1070) respondents engaging in at least one form of IBSA. Logistic regression analyses identified nine characteristics that significantly increased the odds of having engaged in IBSA perpetration during their lifetime, namely: residing in the NZ as opposed to the UK or Australia, being male, having disability/assistance needs, holding attitudes that minimize the harms and excuse the perpetrators of IBSA, engaging in online dating behaviors, engaging in sexual self-image behaviors, and experiencing IBSA victimization (images taken, images distributed, and images threatened). Policy and prevention implications of the findings, as well as directions for future research are discussed.

Psychopathological aspects of sexting and IBSA perpetrators: A brief research report

“…Our data shows gender differences between groups, with males being 2.9 times more likely to engage in IBSA perpetration than females. These results are in line with previous research ( 11 , 15 , 16 , 24 , 26 , 28 ). Other demographic variables showed slight differences between IBSA perpetrators and non-perpetrators.…”

“…Overall, our results showed that 20.7% of the original sample reported engaging in at least one IBSA perpetration behavior in the previous year, which is higher than the results obtained in previous research, with rates that range between 5.1 and 35% ( 11 , 15 , 24 – 28 ). Out of the group of participants who reported engaging in IBSA perpetration behaviors, 63.4% forwarded sexual content they had received, 6% took a sexual picture of a victim and forwarded it without consent, 23.9% pressured someone to receive sexual content and 6.7% threatened someone to receive sexual content.…”

“…Henry et al ( 11 ) study showed that behaviors involving the taking of a nude or sexual image (8.7%) were the most common, followed by behaviors involving the distribution of a nude or sexual image (6.4%), and behaviors involving threats to distribute a nude or sexual image (4.9%). Differences in the reported measures could be due to cultural differences ( 28 , 29 ), but also to differences in conceptualization of the measured behaviors, samples and instruments used ( 11 ).…”

“…Furthermore, the low percentage of perpetrators who perceived IBSA behaviors as risky could also represent a possibility of intervention. Previous literature has stated the association between IBSA perpetration and negative attitudinal trends toward sexual violence, such as victim blaming, while also minimizing, excusing or justifying their perpetrator behaviors ( 28 , 32 , 33 ). Yet, this finding should also be linked with motives for IBSA perpetration reported by our participants.…”

Prevalence of Online Sexual Offenses Against Children in the US

“…Weights were developed for the sample that adjust for nonresponse (raking adjustment to the 2021 age-specific benchmarks for gender, educational level, race and ethnicity, household income, US Census region, and metropolitan status) and the prioritization of lower base-rate incidents among those with multiple exposures. The study operationalized several distinct offenses that occur under broader concepts from the literature, 5,8,14 such as image-based sexual abuse, online grooming, and nonconsensual sexting.…”