Image-based abuse (IBA) occurs when intimate, nude or sexual images are distributed without the consent of those pictured. This includes real, altered (e.g. Photoshopped) and drawn pictures and videos.
While most image-based abuse is about the sharing of images without consent, it can also include the threat of an image being shared.
Image-based abuse is also commonly referred to as ‘revenge porn’, ‘non-consensual sharing of intimate images’, or ‘intimate image abuse’.
‘Revenge porn’ is the term most commonly used in the media, but in many cases IBA is not about ‘revenge’, nor is it restricted to ‘porn’. IBA can occur for a range of motives and can include many kinds of images and video.
How much of a problem is it?
Around 20% of Australians have experienced revenge-based abuse.
1 in 5 Australians aged 16–49 have experienced image-based abuse. Although women aged 18-24 are more likely to be targets, IBA impacts people regardless of their age, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, education or bank balance.
To further highlight this, a survey by RMIT and Monash University indicated that:
- 20 per cent had experienced the non-consensual creation of nude or sexual images
- 11 per cent had experienced the non-consensual distribution of nude or sexual images
- 9 per cent had experienced the threat of distributing those images
Finally, a Triple J survey found that 55 per cent of 18 to 29-year-olds surveyed have sent a naked selfie.
Why do people share images without consent?
People who share images without consent do so for a range of reasons.
Some people who share images have reported being upset with the victim — mainly following a relationship break up — or wanting to harm and humiliate them. Others reported wanting to bully the victim.
Image-based abuse can also be part of a pattern of controlling and abusive behavior in a domestic violence situation that deliberately seeks to create fear and/or shame.
However, according to recent research, only 12% of perpetrators committed image-based abuse because they were upset with the victim or wanted to harm them.
Many share non-consensual images as a game among friends without the direct intention of hurting anyone. The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative found that the majority of people (79%) who reported sharing a sexually explicit photo of someone without their consent did it… ‘just to share “with friends” without the intention “to hurt” the person’.
Whatever the reason, even if someone has consented to an intimate image or video being taken of them, sharing that image or video without their consent can never be justified, and is not acceptable.
The Australian Government has set up the "Office of the eSafety Commissioner" which provides some excellent material in this area.
Speicifcally, from the website, "We are here to support all Australians who have experienced image-based abuse, by providing reporting options, support and resources for victims, their family and friends, and bystanders."
