ARThe Revenge Porn Helpline has released its latest annual report, revealing an alarming 20.9% increase in intimate image abuse reports across 2024, marking the highest number of reports in the service’s history. A total of 22,275 reports were made, up from 18,421 in 2023, underscoring the urgent need for stronger legal protections and enhanced victim support.
Despite this surge, the Helpline successfully maintained an impressive 90.9% takedown rate across intimate images that were reported. However, the scale of the problem remains overwhelming. Since its inception in 2015, the Helpline has reported more than 412,000 intimate images, with 387,000 successfully removed.
Key Findings from the 2024 Report:
- Perpetrators & Victims: Over 81% of cases (where identified) involved a male perpetrator. Where the perpetrator was identified, 58.4% were current or former partners, 22.7% were known acquaintances, and 8.9% were linked to criminal gangs.
- Sextortion Prevalence: Sextortion was the most reported harm, accounting for 22.7% of cases.
- Re-victimisation: The Helpline continued to report 61,213 images from historic cases in 2024 (260% increase from 2023), reflecting the ongoing impact of intimate image abuse.
- Gendered Disparity in Law Enforcement Response: Victims were nearly four times more likely to have a negative experience than a positive one when interacting with law enforcement. Of 457 recorded cases, 363 resulted in negative interactions, with female victims disproportionately affected (304 negative vs. 66 positive experiences).
- Younger Adults Largely Affected: Out of the 793 cases where age data was available, the largest affected groups were young adults: 308 cases involved individuals aged 18-24, followed by 239 cases in the 25-34 age group.
- Scale of Impact: Analysis suggests 1.42% of adult women in the UK experience non-consensual intimate image (NCII) abuse annually equivalent to the entire adult female population of Birmingham.
A Call to Action: Legislative Reform and Industry Responsibility
The Helpline is calling for urgent legal reforms to address the growing issue of intimate image abuse.
- Treat NCII in the same way as Child Sexual Abuse Material – Non-consensual intimate image abuse must be classified and treated with the same urgency as Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).
- Mandate StopNCII.org Adoption – All online platforms that allow media uploads should be required to implement StopNCII.org, a global online protection tool that prevents the repeated sharing of intimate images through advanced hashing technology.
- Improve Law Enforcement Training – Officers must receive enhanced training to properly support victims and understand the profound impact of this form of abuse. The high rate of negative experiences when reporting NCII cases to authorities demonstrates an urgent need for education and reform.
Urgent Need for Systemic Change
Sophie Mortimer (Revenge Porn Helpline Manager at SWGfL) said:
The annual report once again highlights that intimate image abuse is still one of the most significant and concerning digital harms affecting adults right now. The rise in cases and persistent difficulties and gaps within legislation demonstrate that existing measures are insufficient. Without decisive legislative action to treat NCII content in the same way as CSAM, victims will continue to suffer from the harmful effects of intimate image abuse.
For further information or to access support, please contact the Revenge Porn Helpline at www.revengepornhelpline.org.uk
