What is online sexual abuse?
Online sexual abuse can be any type of sexual harassment, exploitation, or abuse that takes place through screens.
Forms of online sexual harassment or abuse:
- Sending someone hateful or unwelcome comments based on sex
- Sending unwanted requests to partners or strangers to send nude photos or videos or livestream sexual acts.
- Performing sexual acts on webcam without the consent of everyone involved or in inappropriate settings (like during an online work meeting).
- Sharing private images or videos without the consent of everyone involved, also known as revenge porn, which is illegal.
- Sharing porn in spaces where everyone has not consented to view it (like in Zoom meetings or other inappropriate places, also called Zoom bombing).
- Grooming children to enable their sexual abuse either online or offline.
Just because these forms of sexual abuse take place behind a screen doesn't make their impact on the victim any less real. While some of these behaviors are crimes, particularly any that involve sexual abuse of children, others are just as harmful. Additionally, as images of abuse could be reshared and recirculated on the internet, there is an added layer of revictimization.