An Exploratory Analysis of Revenge Porn among College Students

• In Event: Understanding Predictors of Cybercrime Offending

Abstract

Technological advances over the past several decades have led to new forms of sexually violent and sexually aggressive behaviors. One type of sexually aggressive behavior that has received media attention in recent years is revenge porn, or the posting of sexually suggestive or explicit materials of a former romantic partner or other individual online or sending those materials to others, without the subject’s consent. The purpose of revenge porn is to humiliate, harass, embarrass, or otherwise punish the victim. Despite the media attention given to this issue, few empirical studies have examined it. The goal of the current study is to examine those individuals who are committing revenge porn through a survey of 500 university freshman that measured their revenge porn behaviors, reasons for engaging in revenge porn, and perceptions about revenge porn. The findings from this survey, as well as policy implications based on the results, are presented.

Authors

• Carly Hilinski-Rosick, University of Tampa

• Kathryn Branch, University of Tampa