One in five Australians have been the victim of so-called “revenge porn” or other image-related abuse, a new study released on Monday said.
The national survey of 4,274 people by researchers from Australia’s RMIT and Monash universities found that image-based abuse was far
more widespread in the country than previously thought, with both men and women equally likely to be targeted.
“One in five respondents in the survey reported that their sexual or nude images, or videos, were taken without their consent,” said Nicola Henry, a professor at RMIT and the chief investigator of the survey.
Of those, almost half of them had their images distributed without their agreement, according to the study, which has been touted as Australia’s first comprehensive study of the subject.
“These figures are likely to be underestimated because they are only from the ones who know that their photos were taken or distributed,” Henry told dpa.
Eleven percent of the survey’s respondents said their sexual or nude images were sent to others or distributed without consent, mostly through mobile messaging, social media and online forum sites, while nine percent of the respondents said that they had been threatened with the same.
Some 80 percent of the victims who had experienced threats that their image would be distributed, reported high levels of psychological distress, depression or anxiety.
The researchers said minority groups were found to be especially vulnerable, with one in two Indigenous Australians and one in two disabled people affected by such abuse.
Lesbian, gay and bisexuals also faced a higher risk of abuse.
The study of respondents between the age of 16 and 49 was conducted online in late 2016. Researchers agreed it was not representative of Australia, but the survey was “controlled for age and gender.”
The survey also found that consensual sexual self-image photos – known as selfies – were prevalent, especially among the young population.
Sixty-one percent of those aged 20 to 29 had sent another person a sexual selfie of themselves voluntarily at least once, while 52 percent
of 16 to 19-year-olds shared sexual self-images.
Abuse risk was significantly higher for those who shared sexual selfies, but the survey is careful not to put the blame on the victims, Henry said.
Henry said laws and government policies were struggling to catch up with the abrupt emergence of such image-based abuse.
“This is quite a complex problem that goes well beyond the revenge-type scenario of jilted ex-lover,” she said.
“The term revenge also puts focus on the victim’s behavior, instead of abusive action of perpetrators.”
Only two Australian states – Victoria and South Australia – have specific laws against distributing images without consent.
