2024/04/17 by Stine Nygård, Ingela Lundin Kvalem, Bente Træen · 1 voice · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Gender, Feminism, and Media #Media Studies and Communication #Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/00224499.2024.2341129
openalex publication_date 2024/04/17 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
It is widely reported that image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) victimization is linked to a wide range of detrimental outcomes, including anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation.However, knowledge about what shapes victims' experiences remains limited.To explore underlying mechanisms of harm in IBSA incidents, the present study drew on the concept of appraisal to elucidate the various meanings that victims attach to IBSA.For this purpose, we carried out a reflexive thematic analysis of 20 individual in-depth interviews with young male and female victims (ages 16-26) of IBSA.Using this approach, we developed four overarching themes that capture participants' experiences of being (1) robbed of bodily autonomy, (2) stripped of privacy, (3) subjected to public scrutiny, and (4) trapped in a state of uncertainty.By delineating the different ways that participants appraised and experienced each of these "layers of victimization," our findings show how the harms of IBSA may be shaped by a complex constellation of situational, personal, and cultural structures and conditions.Importantly, as some of these mechanisms are socially constructed, our findings indicate that efforts aimed at reducing negative outcomes of IBSA should address the interpersonal and cultural context of these incidents, including bystander responses to intimate image dissemination.I think I went into shock actually.Yeah, I was shocked.I felt nauseous.I felt that I was going to throw up.I started shaking.My heart was pounding.I had difficulty breathing.It was very physical.It was very intense.The above account was given by "Oda," a young woman who, in her early 20s, discovered that multiple sexually suggestive photos of her had been stolen from her e-mail account and published online.Between 2020 and 2021, we interviewed her and 19 other individuals about their experiences of having private intimate images disseminated against their will.Like Oda, most participants recounted suffering acute emotional stress upon learning that nude or otherwise sexual photos or videos of them had been distributed to others without their consent.Across interviews, this discovery was tied to a range of negative emotions, including shock, disbelief, confusion, uneasiness, panic, fear, hopelessness, sadness, annoyance, and anger.Participants also recounted experiencing several physical symptoms of stress, such as nausea, stomach knots, dry mouth, shaking, heart palpitations, and breathing difficulties.However, beyond this initial discomfort, participants' narratives demonstrated considerable variation with regard to the nature, severity, and duration of the distress caused by the image dissemination.The purpose of this study was to elucidate how and why their experiences differed.