LGBTQ+ adolescents 'at particular risk' of non-consensual sharing of sexual images

One of the report's authors said: “Responsible photo and image and video sharing is everyone’s problem. Disseminating and sharing people’s images without the person’s consent can be a violation. Even if people shared it with good intentions, they can re-violate a person.” File picture

Adolescents in the LGBTQ+ communities are “at a particular risk of being the target of non-consensual dissemination of sexual images”, according to a new report from the Anti Bullying Centre in Dublin City University.

The report, Non-consensual Dissemination of Sexual Images Among Adolescents: Associations With Depression and Self-Esteem, highlights that non-consensual sharing of sexual imagery – including video – can impact the mental health of the person in the imagery. It found that 6.5% of participants had their sexual pictures shared without their consent at least once in their lives.

The report says: “We suggest raising adolescent awareness in relation to the non-consensual dissemination of sexual images as a form of sexual abuse that can have detrimental effects on those who are targeted. Such educational programs should be inclusive of sexual minority adolescents, as they are at a particular risk of being the target of non-consensual dissemination of sexual images. Psychological support should be provided to the targets of this form of abuse, through both school and online counselling.” 

It continues: “Sexting seems to be a more common and acceptable practice among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) adolescents. Indeed, existing research showed that LGBTQ+ young people engage in different sexting behaviours more frequently compared to their heterosexual peers.” 

The work also noted: “Besides the motives that lead adolescents to engage in sexting, LGBTQ+ adolescents might be also pushed by the need to build sexual and romantic relationships in a safe space such as the Internet, where they are less exposed to the risk of stigma and discrimination.” 

Another new report from the centre acknowledges that sexting is seen as normal among adolescents, with almost 30% of teenagers between 15 and 18 years old having sent at least one sexual image, sext or video (nude or semi-nude) of themselves to someone else in the past.

However, one of the authors of both reports, Dr Mairead Foody of the School of Psychology at University College Galway said the non-consensual sharing of images stands apart from the consensual sharing of such material.

She explains: “It is a violation when you share someone’s image or photo or video without their consent. That does have a huge impact on them.” 

Saying it is not just a matter for young people, she continued: 

Responsible photo and image and video sharing is everyone’s problem. Disseminating and sharing people’s images without the person’s consent can be a violation. Even if people shared it with good intentions, they can re-violate a person.

She added: “We have to really examine why people feel the need to pass these on – instead of not looking at it and deleting it.” 

She said social media users need to consider the people in the images or video before deciding to share. She pointed out that the re-sharing of it by multiple people can be more harmful to the victim than the “initial victimisation or harassment".