The exceptional case of sextortion: exploring the rise of male victims in sexual crimes

• In Event: Sexual offending and victimization

Abstract

The use of technology and devices as forms of sexual exploitation and criminal victimisation in people’s relationships and intimacy is growing day by day.
By looking at the case of sextortion and the exploratory data on this phenomenon, it seems that most victims are shown to be male. This newly-recent criminal activity consists of an invasive form of extortion that occurs when a perpetrator threatens to release explicit images of the victim unless he or she send them a ransom (usually money, explicit images, or even sexual favours).
Drawing upon preliminary and exclusive data, the no profit organization PermessoNegato has handled more than 500 cases of sextortion during 2023, of whom only 50 were females.
Using the abovementioned data as starting point, this research has focused on who the male victims are and how they became victims, delving into an understudied, yet ever-increasing phenomenon within the broader sphere of image-based sexual abuse.
The aim of the research is to explore how the victims are groomed online, and consequently how the perpetrators acts. Studying the online habits of the victims has been one of the key points, as well as the offline ones, and if there is a scheme used to lure victims: how they are contacted, how they manage to establish trust in such a short time, and how the extortion takes place.

Author

• Edel Beckman, Clinical Criminologist at PermessoNegato APS