According to Urban Dictionary, revenge porn (or sometimes referred to in the slang ‘revenge pr0n’) is “a nude photograph or video which is publicly shared online (most frequently by an ex-lover of the subject’s) for the purpose of spiteful humiliation.” It’s become a growing trend in the age of smartphones and social media, and it affects a lot more people than you might think.
A new study from the Center for Innovative Public Health Research has found that 1 in 25 Americans–that’s roughly 10 million people–say they’ve been confronted and/or threatened with revenge porn, with LGBTQ people being the most targeted group of victims.
The survey, which was the first national study conducted on the topic, asked more than 3,000 people ages 15 years and up about their experiences with revenge porn. Researchers learned was that about 3% of respondents have had an ex-lower threaten to post their nudie pics and videos online in an effort to humiliate them, and 2% said someone did so without their permission.
Researcher also found that LGBTQ people were the hardest hit when it came to acts of revenge porn, with 15% reporting being threatened, and 7% reporting having the threat carried out.
Women, in general, were more affected than their male counterparts, with 10% reporting threats and 6% reporting having seen their images shared online without consent. In comparison, 4% of men said they’ve found non-consensual x-rated images of themselves online, and 3% reported having received threats.
Amanda Lenhart, the author of the report, told the Washington Post that revenge porn is “a common tactic among domestic abusers” but that it can also be committed by hackers who break into a person’s email, cloud-storage, or webcam.
“Nonconsensual pornography can have a devastating and lasting impact on victims,” she said, “so it’s vital that we understand how common this is and who is affected.”
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This article originally appeared on Queerty
Photo credit: Getty Images
“Women, in general, were more affected than their male counterparts, with 10% reporting threats and 6% reporting having seen their images shared online without consent. In comparison, 4% of men said they’ve found non-consensual x-rated images of themselves online, and 3% reported having received threats.” Except, that isn’t true. When McAfee did their study, men were more affected although the rates were similar, men were twice as likely to send porn. I’m pretty sure in raw numbers men are most affected, but of course most “progressive” studies need to frame women as the ultimate victims. One of the things that’s… Read more »
Just looking at the numbers, it seems women are a lot more likely to actually follow through with the threat of posting revenge porn or simply just post it without making a threat. I doubt it’s something the researchers will draw attention to though. Wonder why.