One of the largest-ever studies on revenge porn has uncovered a growth in sharing and storing of intimate images, along with a growing de-sensitisation towards the issue in the digital era.

The survey includes 9,033 respondents worldwide, making it one of the largest ever conducted, with 1,000 participants from the UK.

The research highlights the increasing prevalence of revenge porn, or intimate image abuse (IIA), as well as the normalisation of sharing such images, even with strangers.

In response to this issue, the UK has begun to take action, with the technology secretary announcing that sharing these images will lead to offenders being charged under the most serious provisions of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, following amendments made by the Online Safety Act.

The study highlights concerning attitudes around the issue of consent and responsibility.

A staggering 27% of respondents believe that receiving an intimate image grants them ownership to do as they wish with it, a view held by 30% of men and 25% of women.

Additionally, 20% of Brits think sharing intimate images without consent should not carry the same legal penalties as other serious privacy violations – unless the intent is harmful. Even more worryingly, 8% don’t believe it should be penalised at all.

Victim-blaming is pervasive across all age groups, with 56% agreeing and 28% strongly agreeing with the harmful notion that individuals who share intimate images should accept the potential negative consequences that may follow.

This troubling perspective perpetuates a culture where victims are held responsible for the actions of those who exploit their trust, rather than addressing the issue of unauthorised distribution and misuse of private content.

The high number of images being captured, stored and shared – 22% of respondents say they have explicit images of themselves saved on their device – correlates with the huge volume of people who have either survived or know someone who is a survivor of intimate image abuse.

This suggests that although more people are prepared to store and share images, they are less cognisant of the potential consequences of sharing those intimate images of themselves.

Almost half (46%) of respondents globally are either a survivor of intimate image abuse (7%) or know someone – friend, ex-partner, social
acquaintance, relative – who is a survivor of this form of abuse.

“Our study reveals a troubling trend in the increasing number of individuals affected by intimate image abuse (IIA) and the desensitisation this form of abuse is causing, particularly among young people,” explained David Emm, Principal Security Researcher at Kaspersky.

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“The ease with which images can be stored and shared in the digital age means that people often do so without a second thought, forgetting that these images can remain online indefinitely. While recent legislation introduced by the UK government is a welcome step, it’s crucial that individuals also become more aware of the rise in IIA.

“Greater awareness of this issue will hopefully help reduce its prevalence over time and promote a safer online space for every generation.”

Advice for staying safe: 

• Be mindful of what content you share online and of who you share it with.
• Take time to understand which applications are safe to use and which have end-to-end encryption
• If you fall victim to a IIA ensure you keep hold of evidence, inform the authorities and platforms where the IIA has taken place
• Always check the permission settings on the apps you use, to minimise the likelihood of your data being shared or stored by third parties – and beyond – without your knowledge
• Use a reliable security solution like Kaspersky Password Manager to generate and secure unique passwords for every account; resist the temptation to reuse the same one
• Go to online resources like StopNCII.org, a tool to help protect intimate images from being shared online across some of the most widely used platforms across the world.