How Social Media "Sextortion" Is Changing Dynamics Of Partner Abuse

Holding someone's reputation ransom using incriminating sexual images isn't anything new, but social media has certainly made it all the easier.

Trigger warning: This article deals with sexual violence, abusive relationships and pornography.

The recently coined term, "sextortion," refers to when someone threatens to expose another person's intimate images, as a form of reputation sabotage or manipulation.

Two researchers from The University of New Hampshire David Finkelhor and Janis Wolak have conducted a large study on the subject of sextortion, which has been quite revealing.

They conducted an online survey with 1,631 respondents aged between 18 to 25, who were asked to anonymously share their stories. Eighty-three per cent were female and 50 per cent were under the age of 18 when the incidents occured.

While the cases were all diverse in nature, there were two clear groups. One being when dumped or rejected boyfriends threatened to reveal intimate images of their ex-partner to a) coerce them back into a relationship, or b) punish them. We've also come to know these cases as "revenge porn".

Other cases involved meeting someone online, who upon receiving intimate photos, used them to demand more images or to force the victim into sexual encounters.

Finkelhor and Wolak write, "victims of sextortion reported pervasive feelings of shame, embarrassment and self-blame." The combination of these feelings kept them from seeking help from friends, family, websites, or the police.

The 40 per cent of respondents who reached out to websites that hosted their sensitive images had a difficult time having their pictures removed.

One victim said they had to prove their identity and explain via email to the owner of the website what had happened. The owner was "very unwilling to have the image taken down". They explained that the website initially took the photo down, but later allowed the perpetrator to re-upload the image less than a week later.

Unfortunately, there are still very few laws which deal specifically with online sex crimes; usual remedies for victims fall under statutes relating to stalking, hacking, extortion or child pornography. The catch-22 with the child pornography clause, however, is that the initial sender of the image (usually also the victim) might be found guilty of distributing child pornography, not the perpetrator.

Social media and the tech industry (in general) have a long way to go in terms of alleviating trauma on victims of sextortion, according to Finkelhor and Wolak.

"Reducing the sense of stigma and self-blame among victims is an important step to foiling perpetrators," they write.

Creators of new technology "have made sextortion so easy" that they can "surely find some equally creative and effective ways to prevent it and assist those who have been harmed".

If you are in an abusive situation please seek help:

Call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) or visit Reachout.com

Photo: iStock