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Abstract
Over the past several decades, there has been an increased focus on various forms of sexual violence and sexually aggressive behaviors (e.g., stalking, harassment). Technology has provided new opportunities for sexually aggressive behavior and involvement in sexting and revenge porn. To date, there is limited empirical research that exists on revenge porn- sending or posting sexually suggestive or explicit materials of a former lover, without the subject's consent, in an attempt to humiliate, harass, or punish the victim. In the present exploratory study, we surveyed 470 college freshmen about their practices and perceptions about revenge porn. Findings revealed that approximately 10% of the current sample had a private photo shared beyond the intended recipient and those male students and female students had different experiences. Specifically, victims of revenge porn were predominantly female, freshman, and 18 years of age and the majority of private pictures that were forwarded to others beyond the intended recipient were sent by a current or former boyfriend. Implications of these findings for the college community are discussed.
Keywords: Sexting, Revenge porn, Sexual aggression, College students.
Introduction
Having someone share a sexually suggestive or explicit photo that was intended to be private not only disrupts the life of the victim but can be even worse because the images can be shared and continue to reappear on the internet in multiple places. Many sites now allow a victim to request that the images be taken down, but once the picture has been posted the damage is often done. Anecdotal accounts of victims' experiences suggest that women are more likely to be victims (Halder & Jaishankar, 2013) and that victims experience social and emotional harm similar to experiences of victims of other forms of sexual aggression (e.g., experiencing trust issues, sexual shaming and body shaming, anxiety, humiliation and fear for personal safety) (Bahadur, 2014; Dupont, 2014).
Who posts this information has been getting recent media attention. Specifically, there has been a growing discussion about sharing or posting sexually explicit or sexually suggestive photos of a former lover without their consent in an attempt to humiliate, harass, or punish the victim. This is often referred to as revenge porn (Halder & Jaishankar, 2013). Also, there are specific websites dedicated to posting this type...