"It's no use reporting, they don't even investigate rape." A qualitative thematic analysis of Norwegian young adults' expectations to report non-consensual sexual image-sharing to the authorities.

• In Event: Prison and post-prison experiences

Abstract

According to self-report victimization surveys, approximately 8.7% of young people (aged 16-19) and 5.3% of young adults (aged 20-24) in Norway have experienced victimization of a form of digital sexual violence. However, few cases go to trial, which might indicate that few cases are reported to the police.
In this paper, I explore young adults’ attitudes and expectations to report non-consensual sexual image-sharing to the authorities within a focus group context. In total 14 focus group were conducted with people ages 18-24. Each focus group consisted of 3-4 research participants. The interview data are thematically coded. A key theme is that there exists a defeatist narrative when it comes to reporting non-consensual sexual image-sharing, as the research participants express distrust in the authorities that reporting can lead to a trial and conviction of the perpetrator. They also highlight that reporting could result in negative social sanctions from their peers and parents, and they expressed that it would be less emotionally- and socially taxing to “just let it go”. The paper explores these findings through concepts such as: ‘trust’, ‘peer groups’ and ‘stigma’ in an attempt to gain a further understanding of young adults' reluctance to report victimisation of digital sexual crimes.

Author

• Roya Denise Haugen, University of Agder