The internet has made our lives easier in so many ways. But at the same time, it can also be harmful. From phishing attempts to having your credit card number stolen, there is a lot to worry about when you’re online. This includes the potential to have intimate photos posted online or shared – an act that is often referred to as “revenge porn.”
Image-based sexual abuse has been a problem for years. More recently, the tactics have changed and become even more dangerous. So-called “sextortion” – where people are threatened and coerced into sending explicit images online – has increased significantly in recent years.
Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step in addressing it. Below, we break down this kind of abuse – and discuss the measures being taken to stop it.
Real - and Fake – Revenge Porn Can Cause Immeasurable Harm
When revenge porn first became a “thing,” it mostly consisted of scenarios like an angry ex posting videos and pictures online. Today, the term has broadened to encompass multiple types of abusive behavior. This includes:
Revenge porn: the distribution of sexually explicit images or videos of a person without their consent, with the goal of humiliating or hurting the victim. It is considered a form of intimate partner violence, with elements of both domestic and sexual abuse.
Nonconsensual pornography: similar to revenge porn, this type of abuse is not motivated by the desire to hurt a victim but to gain profit or notoriety. For example, a person might upload sexually explicit videos to a website without their partner’s consent with the goal of earning money for the content – not to harm or control their partner.
Deep fakes: advances in technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI), have allowed people to create sexually explicit images and videos of people that look real (but are not).
Sextortion: a person (often a teen or child) is threatened and/or coerced into sending sexually explicit images or videos to someone online. The scammer then extorts a victim to send more content – or threatens them that if they don’t send money, they will send the content to their friends and family.
Image-based sexual abuse can cause significant harm to any survivor and victim impacted by this form of abuse. A person may be humiliated, lose their job, be bullied into going back to an abusive ex, be extorted, or face other serious consequences. In sextortion cases, blackmailing of young people is linked to an increased risk of suicide.
Having real or fake images of you posted online is a massive betrayal. It can make a person feel unsafe and cause feelings of depression and anxiety. It can be devastating on many levels – and it is a form of abuse.
Laws on Revenge Porn
49 out of 50 states have laws against revenge pornography. Broadly, these laws make it a crime to take and to publish sexually explicit images of a person without their consent.
There is also a federal law that permits survivors and victims of nonconsensual sharing of intimate images to file a civil lawsuit against the person who released the materials. Importantly, this law does not provide for criminal penalties under federal law.
In 2024, the bipartisan “Take It Down” Act was introduced in the U.S. Senate. This law would criminalize the publication of sexually explicit AI-generated deep-fake images without the consent of the subject. It would also provide protections to survivors and victims of AI-generated deep-fake pornography. First Lady Melania Trump recently lobbied Congress on behalf of the bill, stating “Every young person deserves a safe online space to express themself freely, without the looming threat of exploitation or harm.”
One of the challenges in addressing this issue is that image-based sexual abuse doesn’t consist of just one thing. It may also be perpetrated by people in other countries – outside of the reach of American law enforcement.
While it may not always be possible to protect yourself from this type of abuse – particularly in a time where deep fakes exist – you can help to reduce the likelihood of it happening. If you have kids, talk to them about this issue and how they can stay safe online. Even if they believe that the person that they are chatting to is someone their age who is interested in them, they should never send explicit images or photos of themselves to anyone digitally. Make sure that they also know that if someone is extorting them, it is a crime – and you will be there to help them.
As always, if you are a survivor and victim of any type of abuse, there is help. Contact us at 1-888-832-2272 (TDD available) to speak to a trained crisis counselor 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Calls to our hotline are free of charge and can be anonymous.
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