Overview

The studies provide us with plenty of evidence that, as online dating grows in popularity, the problem of intimate image abuse will continue to grow alongside this trend.

• 74 % of adults engage in online dating or sexual intimacy.
• Up to 1 in 5 adults are victims of revenge porn.
• At least 1 in 10 adults are perpetrators of revenge porn.

Aside from revenge, it appears that intimate image abuse is an increasingly common form of domestic abuse against current and former partners.

According to the first study:

• 71% of victims report that a current or previous romantic partner had posted a nude image.
• 65% of the perpetrators reported that their victim was also a current or ex-lover.
• 31% of victims said that the perpetrator was a current partner
• 39% of perpetrators said their victim was a current partner.

Aside from partners, other perpetrators included “friends, acquaintances, former friends, family members, and co-workers.”

However, a significant number of respondents had their images or videos shared by strangers or unknown perpetrators:

• 16% of victims said their image was posted by a stranger (or were unsure of who posted it)
• 23% of perpetrators said they posted a nude photo of a stranger.

Based on this, a worrying trend emerges.

While most revenge porn and intimate image abuse is the work of partners, it can also occur due to hacking.However, regardless of the origins, plenty of people who view revenge porn or receive it are happy to share it without considering the victim’s wellbeing - creating a ‘revenge porn chain.’

There is some support for this notion in one last statistic of interest: victims reported a mean of 1.26 perpetrators.

Key takeaways:

• The vast majority of people across all age groups have engaged in some form of internet dating.
• Not all intimate image abuse perpetrated by partners is ‘revenge porn’ - it can also be a form of domestic abuse.
• The sharing of revenge porn by people unrelated to the original offense, and perhaps even strangers to the victim, is another issue that needs addressing.

Gender and Sexuality

The most surprising results from both studies focus on gender.

Based on the data, it appears that men are much more likely to be both victims and perpetrators of intimate image abuse and revenge porn.

Men are 2-3 times more likely to commit revenge porn, and twice as likely to be victims.

In other words, people in relationships with men (bi-sexual and heterosexual women, LGBTQ+ men) are more vulnerable to victimization than those in relationships with women.

The two studies vary considerably when it comes to reporting incidents of intimate image abuse or seeking support.

Reporting Abuse

In both cases, most victims did not seek any help after victimization.

For women, the most common reasons were “I was embarrassed” and “I was afraid.” Most men selected “It didn’t bother me” as the reason for not seeking help.

However, in Study 1, women were more likely to report, and in Study 2, men were more likely.

This disparity is probably the result of cultural differences between the study groups.

Intimate Image Abuse in the LGBTQ+ Community

While the majority of respondents in both studies identified as heterosexual, LGBTQ+ groups were also represented. There are some shortcomings in the data, but it still reveals some crucial insights. For example:

• In Study 1, lesbian women and gay men have the two lowest victimization and perpetration rates.
• In Study 2, lesbian/bisexual women and gay/bisexual men have higher victimization rates than heterosexual men and women.
• Bisexual men comprise a large percentage of both victims and perpetrators in both studies. Their large percentage in both categories drives up rates of victimization and perpetration among men in general.

Based on the two studies’ findings, we can speculate that lesbian and gay populations represent a minority of victims and perpetrators in the LGBT+ population. The largest majorities are in the bisexual groups - those who engage in sexual and romantic relationships with men.

Of course, we need more precise, more methodologically sound demographic research to confirm this.

Key takeaways:

• Men are victimized as much as women, yet they’re also the primary perpetrators.
• More focus on intimate image abuse targeting LGBT+ men is needed.
• In all groups, rates of reporting abuse are incredibly low.

Age

Combined, the two studies surveyed people between the ages of 16-97. Their findings can be summarized as follows:

• The most common “age at first victimization” is 18 years old - but people reported cases as early as 15.
• Young people account for the majority of perpetrators and victims. The highest rates for both were between 15-29 years. This included distributing images without consent.
• However, 2% of the victims in Study 1 were an average of 75 years old.

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