Revenge pornography: the influence of perpetrator-victim sex, observer sex and observer sexting experience on perceptions of seriousness and responsibility
| Published date | 09 May 2018 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JCP-05-2017-0024 |
| Date | 09 May 2018 |
| Pages | 162-172 |
| Author | Adrian J. Scott,Jeff Gavin |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Criminal psychology,Sociology,Sociology of crime & law,Deviant behaviour,Public policy & environmental management,Policing,Criminal justice |
Revenge pornography: the influence of
perpetrator-victim sex, observer sex and
observer sexting experience on perceptions
of seriousness and responsibility
Adrian J. Scott and Jeff Gavin
Abstract
Purpose –Drawing on gender-role stereotypes and defensive attribution theory, the purpose of this paper is
to investigate the influence of perpetrator-victim sex, observer sex and observer sexting experience on
perceptions of seriousness and responsibility in the context of revenge pornography.
Design/methodology/approach –In total, 239 university students read one of two versions of a
hypothetical scenario, responded to items concerning their perceptions of the situation described, and
responded to items concerning their sexting experience.
Findings –Men were more likely to believe the situation was serious when it involved a male perpetrator and
a female victim rather than vice versa. However, perpetrator-victim sex did not influence women’s
perceptions. Participants without sexting experience were more likely than participants with sexting
experience to believe the situation was serious, and to hold the victim responsible.
Originality/value –Whilst there is a growing body of literature regarding revenge pornography from a legal
perspective, there is little research on perceptions of revenge pornography situations. As the use of intimate
images in relationships continues to rise, it is important to understand people’s attitudes and the extra-legal
factors that shape them.
Keywords Perceptions, Sexting, Intimate images, Intimate violence, Revenge pornography,
Technologically facilitated sexual violence
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Revenge pornography, popularly referredto as “revenge porn”, has been defined as “the practice
of disclosing nude or sexually explicit images and videos, often along with identifying personal
information, of formerromantic partners without their consent”(Bambauer, 2014, p . 2026). It has
recentlybecome an offence in England andWales under the Criminal Justiceand Courts Act 2015,
and similar legislation has been passed in some statesof the USA and Australia. There have also
been calls for changes to national privacy laws in Europe and the Middle East. Whilst there is
a growing body of literature regarding revenge pornography from a legal perspective
(e.g. Levendowski, 2014; Patton, 2015; Walker, 2012), and ample media coverage of high
profile cases, there is little research on perceptions of revenge pornography situations.
The current study therefore investigates the influence of perpetrator-victim sex (the sex of the
perpetrator and the victim), observer sex and observer sexting experience on perceptions of
seriousness and responsibility in the context of revenge pornography. Although “revenge
pornography”has been used throughout this paper in order to be consistent with the existing
literature, it ha s been argued that “image-ba sed sexual abuse”offers a more accurate and inclusive
terminologyfor the creation and non-consensualpublication of intimate images (seeMcGlynn and
Rackley, 2016; Powell and Henry, 2017).
Received 25 May 2017
Revised 8 August 2017
Accepted 14 August 2017
Conflict of interest: the authors
declare that there are no potential
conflicts of interest with respect to
the research, authorship and/or
publication of this paper.
The authors gratefully
acknowledge the assistance
of Rebecca Posner during the
running of the research.
Adrian J. Scott is a Lecturer at
the Department of Psychology,
Goldsmiths, University of
London, London, UK and
a Research Fellow at the
School of Arts and Humanities,
Edith Cowan University,
Joondalup, Australia.
Jeff Gavin is a Senior Lecturer
at the Department of
Psychology, University of Bath,
Bath, UK and an Adjunct
Lecturer at the School of Arts
and Humanities, Edith Cowan
University,Joondalup, Australia.
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JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL PSYCHOLOGY
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VOL. 8 NO. 2 2018, pp. 162-172, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2009-3829 DOI 10.1108/JCP-05-2017-0024
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