A new report has shown that LGB people are more likely to be victims of revenge porn.
The study carried out by the Data & Society Research Institute and the Center for Innovative Public Health Research (CiPHR) offers the first national statistics on the prevalence of nonconsensual pornography.
The results show that 4 percent of U.S. Internet users – or roughly 10.4 million people – have been threatened with or experienced the posting of explicit images without their consent.
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Other findings of the report, “Nonconsensual Image Sharing,” include:
- Around 3 percent of respondents have had someone threaten to post nude or nearly nude photos or videos of them online
- Two percent have had someone post an explicit photo or video of them online without their permission
- Fifteen percent of LGB people said that someone had threatened to post an explicit image online
- Seven percent of LGB people had such an image posted online.
- While women are more likely to be threatened with nonconsensual pornography, men and women were equally likely to have photos or videos of themselves actually posted online
According to CiPHR, Amanda Lenhart, a Researcher at Data & Society Research Institute and one of the authors of the report, said:
“This is the first national data that can tell us how many people have been affected by actual or threatened nonconsensual pornography.
“Nonconsensual pornography can have a devastating and lasting impact on victims, so it’s vital that we understand how common this is and who is affected.
“Our findings show that particular groups -such as young adults and lesbian, gay, and bisexual Americans – are not only much more likely to be victims of nonconsensual pornography, but are more likely to experience a range of online harassment and abuse. This includes other types of privacy violations, such as having their online or phone activity monitored, or having their passwords stolen or coerced by others.”
Michele Ybarra, President and Research Director at the CiPHR and also one of the authors of the report, added that it is “incredibly important that we recognize that men are also victims of nonconsensual pornography. When we talk about victims of ‘revenge porn,’” she added, “male victims are often invisible – but hopefully this report will challenge us to think differently.”
Watch a (work-unfriendly) Broadly report on revenge porn below.
(Image via Wikimedia)
And a video from Davey Wavey:
