“Even before COVID-19, nonconsensual pornography (NCP) was remarkably commonplace,” reported Jessica Goldstein in The Washington Post in 2020. The pandemic seems to have made things worse. One in 25 Americans has been a victim of threats or posts of nearly nude or nude images without their permission, according to the Center for Innovative Public Health Research.
“Nonconsensual pornography (nonconsensual porn) is a sexually graphic image or video of an individual distributed without the consent of the person depicted in the media,” explained Chance Carter on the National Association of Attorneys General website. “Revenge porn is a type of nonconsensual porn, defined as the distribution of sexually graphic images or videos of an individual without their consent in the context of an intimate relationship… Eighty percent of nonconsensual porn is revenge porn, meaning it was originally sent between two consenting individuals in the context of an intimate relationship.”
In a recent webinar for Harmony Foundation, the clinical director of The Mental Health Collective, Kristen Zaleski, Ph.D., LCSW, presented an overview of online forms of sexual abuse, including revenge porn, sextortion, and other forms of technology-enabled abuse. Dr. Zaleski is a nationally recognized author, researcher, and psychotherapist on trauma-related disorders and an expert on sexual trauma within civilian and military cultures.
Nonconsensual pornography is often fake. Zaleski cited the case of an Australian woman whose violent former partner took images from her Facebook account, had them superimposed onto pornographic videos, and then posted them on multiple websites.
If it is not about revenge, it can be about money. “The FBI has seen a huge increase in the number of cases involving children and teens being threatened and coerced into sending explicit images online—a crime called sextortion,” explained Dr. Zaleski. “Sextortion is a serious crime,” warns the FBI. It occurs when “someone threatens to distribute your private and sensitive material if you don’t provide them images of a sexual nature, sexual favors, or money.”
Who Would Do Such a Thing?
Convicted criminal Hunter Moore once created a well-known revenge porn website to punish women who take explicit photos of themselves. It reportedly had more than 300,000 daily visitors. “A 2022 study surveyed over 6,000 people in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. One in three admitted to participating in taking non-consensual images, distributing images, or both,” Zaleski reported. “Men were twice more likely to engage in perpetration than women. However, both men and women were equally victimized.”
Mental Health Consequences
Sexual abuse of a minor (including online) is considered a life-altering traumatic event usually included on the list of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Children experiencing abuse, violence, and other traumatic events often suffer ill effects for the rest of their lives.
“Adolescents who experience technology-assisted child sexual abuse (TA-CSA) but not offline abuse reported more trauma symptoms than a reference group, at least at the same level as adolescents with experiences of penetrative offline child sex abuse,” said Dr. Zaleski. “Symptoms include self-harming and suicidal behavior, sleeping problems, trust issues, impaired relationships, and difficulties at school.” Sadly, self-blame is a predominant feature because all too many people blame the abuse victims for sharing the images.
Mental health consequences of nonconsensual pornography for adults include depression, general anxiety, social anxiety, somatic symptoms, and impaired overall mental health. Cyber Civil Rights Initiative reported that victims score seven percent lower on general mental health measures than non-victims.
So far, there has been very little research on treatment for image-based sexual assault, but peer support and connecting with social advocates appear to be an effective treatment stance.
Harmony Foundation has long utilized a holistic approach to healing trauma and addiction. All staff at Harmony have been trained in trauma-informed care. Realizing that addiction is a biopsychosocial and spiritual disease, Harmony’s treatment program promotes physical, emotional, and spiritual healing, empowering patients to embark upon a lifelong recovery journey.
If you or a loved one are struggling with alcohol or drug addiction or have questions about our programs, call us today at (970) 432-8075 to get the help needed as soon as possible. Our experienced staff is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.