“It Spread Like Wildfire, as These Things Do”: Exploring Mechanisms of Harm in Young Norwegians’ Experiences of Image-Based Sexual Abuse

Abstract

It is widely reported that image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) victimization is linked to a wide range of detrimental outcomes, including anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. However, knowledge about what shapes victims’ experiences remains limited. To explore underlying mechanisms of harm in IBSA incidents, the present study drew on the concept of appraisal to elucidate the various meanings that victims attach to IBSA. For this purpose, we carried out a reflexive thematic analysis of 20 individual in-depth interviews with young male and female victims (ages 16–26) of IBSA. Using this approach, we developed four overarching themes that capture participants’ experiences of being (1) robbed of bodily autonomy, (2) stripped of privacy, (3) subjected to public scrutiny, and (4) trapped in a state of uncertainty. By delineating the different ways that participants appraised and experienced each of these “layers of victimization,” our findings show how the harms of IBSA may be shaped by a complex constellation of situational, personal, and cultural structures and conditions. Importantly, as some of these mechanisms are socially constructed, our findings indicate that efforts aimed at reducing negative outcomes of IBSA should address the interpersonal and cultural context of these incidents, including bystander responses to intimate image dissemination.