5 Types of Image-Based Sexual Abuse You Need to Know

IBSA can manifest in many forms. The Top 5 Most Common Types of Image-Based Sexual Abuse include:

1. Deepfakes (synthetic intimate images): Deepfakes have generated significant attention of late following the leak of sexually explicit images altered to target musician Taylor Swift. This type of IBSA features images or videos created by artificial intelligence to insert a person’s face into explicit, intimate, or sexual content without their knowledge and/or consent. Synthetic images or deepfakes are not real – in the sense that the victim depicted in them has been digitally altered. However, as Dordulian Law Group founder and revenge porn attorney Sam Dordulian notes in a video with survivor Uldouz Wallace, the effects of deepfakes can be real and devastating.
2. Revenge Porn (nonconsensual distribution of sexually explicit material – NCDSEM): Often referred to as revenge porn, the act of distributing nonconsensual intimate images can be devastating to victims. Also known as nonconsensual distribution of intimate images or NDII, revenge porn crimes commonly occur after tumultuous relationships or breakups with significant others. Sam Dordulian appeared on the Dr. Phil Show in 2022 to discuss the issue with survivors, including how to seek legal remedies for damages.
3. Sextortion: Sextortion crimes typically involve adults preying on unsuspecting children. The crimes often begin when an adult contacts a minor over any online platform used to meet and communicate, such as a game, app, or social media account. Sextortion schemes have recently become more prevalent, according to the FBI. A predator will often pose as a young girl and then use deception and manipulation to convince a young male – commonly between 14 and 17 years old – to engage in explicit activity over video. However, the video is usually secretly recorded by the predator. As a result, the predator may then initiate contact under the guise of a friendship. Cases of scammers posing as employees for modeling agencies and requesting photos and/or videos have been reported frequently in recent months, and many cases have tragically led to victim’s dying by suicide.
4. Recording of Sexual Violence (RSV): A crime of recording sexual violence occurs when someone takes pictures or creates videos of someone else’s sexual assault. A common example of this is videoing sex-trafficking victims who are repeatedly assaulted or raped by their traffickers. These recordings are often shared online via designated websites or through social media platforms. In some cases, RSV content has even been made available on mainstream pornographic websites. In a case of RSV occurring in Australia, Frank Hu, the manager of an immigration and education agency, drugged many women with drinks that were laced in sedatives. He then raped them and filmed the abuse. Hu posted thousands of photos and videos of unconscious women on an online pornography website that caters to people who are interested in having sex with “sleeping” women. As we’ve noted many times on the Dordulian Law Group (DLawGroup), blog, consent is always mandatory when engaging in a sexual act.
5. Cyberflashing: Cyberflashing is defined as an act of sending someone an unsolicited or unwanted explicit image or video. Cyberflashing crimes often occur as a form of online harassment, and the effects on victims can be just as serious as if the instance occurred physically through flashing. Perpetrators of cyberflashing often conceal their identities, making it difficult to prosecute through the criminal justice system.