Digital Ethnography of Image-Based Abuse Perpetration Online

• In Event: Perpetration of Technology-facilitated Abuse: Emerging Frameworks, Methods and Evidence

Abstract

Non-consensual intimate images can be a weapon in the hands of perpetrators seeking to punish, blackmail, or control others, or those seeking to obtain notoriety or social status. Although research has established that image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) is a widespread problem that causes significant harms to victim-survivors, little remains known about the practices of perpetrators. In this paper, we examine IBSA perpetration and the role that platforms play in detecting, preventing, and responding to these harms. Between 2021-22, we undertook a digital ethnography of 47 platforms, including pornography sites, community forums, and “deepfake” sites. While other studies have focused on the modus operandi of perpetrators, we move away from individual-level “why” explanations, to examine the “what, where, and how” of IBSA. We discuss the themes of internal logics and self-governance within online communities where reciprocity, exchange of capital, and ritual shape the practices of sharing non-consensual images. We found that many platforms responsibilize victim-survivors and create insurmountable barriers to reporting. In contrast, some platforms, once notorious for IBSA material, have enacted practices that have decreased perpetration, or made it more difficult to detect. This research raises important governance questions about the role of platforms and state-based regulation.

Author

• Nicola Henry, RMIT University