Aware flags scourge of image-based sex abuse

While attending an online event hosted on videoconferencing platform Zoom last year, a woman in her 30s received private messages from two other participants who asked to see her undressed.

Although she immediately informed the event organiser, no action was taken against the senders of these messages. The woman left the event early to avoid further harassment.

This was one of the cases mentioned by the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) yesterday when it released last year's figures on technology-facilitated sexual violence.

Aware did not provide further details about the case to protect the identity of the victim.

It said seven in 10 cases of technology-facilitated sexual violence seen last year involved image-based sexual abuse, including non-consensual distribution of sexual images such as revenge porn.

This is the highest proportion of image-based sexual abuse cases seen to date by the gender equality group's Sexual Assault Care Centre (SACC).

Aware said in a statement that such cases were a steadily growing subset of technology-facilitated cases of sexual violence.

In 2020, 65 per cent of technology-facilitated sexual violence cases seen by SACC were image-based sexual abuse cases, up from 61 per cent in 2019.

Technology-facilitated sexual violence is unwanted sexual behaviour carried out via digital platforms such as digital cameras, social media, messaging platforms, and dating and ride-hailing apps.

It includes image-based sexual abuse, which involves sexual, nude or intimate photos, or videos of another person.

Taking upskirt videos, hacking into a victim's device to retrieve such images, and sending a victim pornography or obscene photos are considered instances of image-based sexual abuse, according to Aware.

Overall, SACC saw 163 new cases of technology-facilitated sexual violence last year, down from 191 cases in 2020. Of the 163 cases last year, the perpetrator was someone known to the victim in 134 cases.

The remaining 29 cases involved strangers or cases in which the perpetrator's identity was not disclosed to SACC.

About 40 per cent of the victims were between 18 and 24 years old, while 32 per cent were aged 25 to 34.

Ms Shailey Hingorani, Aware's head of research and advocacy, said the pace at which sexual violence evolves and adapts to new technologies and platforms makes it tough for researchers and support service providers to keep up.

Responding to queries about the case of the woman who received sexually explicit messages during a Zoom event, Ms Hingorani noted that victims could take screenshots of the harassing messages and report them to the organisers.

"If the organisers ignore complaints, victims could consider filing a report with the organisers' human resources department or approaching the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices. They can also consider filing a police report," she said.

Dr Annabelle Chow, principal clinical psychologist at Annabelle Psychology, told The Straits Times that technology-facilitated sexual violence may be traumatic for victims, who may experience anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts, or exhibit symptoms relating to post-traumatic stress disorder.

She added: "A long-term repercussion may also be the mistrust of others... This could, in turn, affect their future relationships."

Mr Yeo Siang Tiong, general manager for South-east Asia at cyber-security firm Kaspersky, said individuals should be careful about who they share information with and where, especially when it is of a highly private nature.