Perpetration of image-based sexual abuse in the digital age: prevalence, motivations, and community attitudes in 10 countries

Abstract Image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) refers to the creating, taking, sharing, or threatening to share, of intimate images without consent. There is a scarcity of research on perpetration, despite increasing evidence that digital technologies are facilitating IBSA perpetration. We surveyed over 16 000 respondents in 10 countries to understand the prevalence of perpetration across five subtypes of IBSA, the demographic risk factors for perpetrating, and the nature of perpetration. Over 1 in 10 respondents reported at least one perpetration behavior, and polyperpetration was more common than not. Men, LGBT+ respondents, and young people were disproportionately more likely to report perpetrating compared to their counterparts. The most common motivation for perpetration for both genders was because they thought the behavior was funny. The vast majority of respondents thought there should be some consequence for sharing images nonconsensually, but women were more likely than men to support harsher punishments. Almost half of respondents indicated that they had received or encountered nonconsensual intimate images of someone else, reflecting high rates of circulation of abusive material. The relatively high rates of IBSA, paired with the prevalence of polyperpetration, suggests that current laws, policies, and practices are insufficient and more urgent intervention is needed.