Org Report

Understanding and Combatting Youth Experiences of Image-Based Sexual Harassment and Abuse

Dec 2021 🇬🇧 UCL, University of Kent, School of Sexuality Education & Association of School and College Leaders Ages 12–18

This UCL, University of Kent and School of Sexuality Education report, led by Jessica Ringrose with Kaitlyn Regehr and Betsy Milne, surveyed and held focus groups with 480 English secondary-school students aged 12 to 18 about unwanted sexual images and messages on Snapchat and Instagram. It found cyberflashing and pressure to send nude images had become widely normalized: most girls who received unwanted images described them as upsetting, yet the large majority never reported the incidents to a platform, parent, or school, most often because they doubted reporting would help. The authors coin 'image-based sexual harassment' and 'image-based sexual abuse' to distinguish these non-consensual practices from consensual teen sexting, and link platform features like Snapchat's disappearing messages and lack of identity checks to under-reporting. TechKids Foundation includes it as association-level evidence on how specific app design choices are linked to under-addressed sexual harassment among children.

480 young people studied

The report combines a 336-respondent online survey with 144 focus-group participants, all aged 12 to 18, drawn from seven schools across England.

Just over half did nothing in response

Just over half of survey respondents (54 of 106) who had received unwanted sexual content or had an image shared without consent said they took no action, most commonly because they doubted reporting would help.

37% of girls received an unwanted sexual image

In the survey, 37% of girls reported receiving an unwanted sexual picture or video online, compared with 20% of boys.

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CITATION

Ringrose, Jessica, Kaitlyn Regehr, and Betsy Milne. "Understanding and Combatting Youth Experiences of Image-Based Sexual Harassment and Abuse." University College London, University of Kent, School of Sexuality Education, and Association of School and College Leaders, December 2021.

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