The Revenge Porn Helpline reported that a record number of people contacted the Helpline in August, with cases rising by over 30% from July.
This surge in cases marked the busiest week and month for the Helpline since it began operations in 2015. This concerning rise demonstrates the significant impact that intimate image abuse is having, and the need for greater awareness surrounding this issue.
The Helpline also found that cases of sextortion continued to be the most prevalent form of intimate image abuse the Helpline received throughout August, continuing trends that have been seen since 2021.
Intimate Image Abuse
Intimate Image Abuse (IIA), also referred to as Image Based Sexual Abuse (IBSA) or ‘’revenge porn’’, is the sharing of, taking, or threatening to share private sexual images without consent. Since the Helpline began operation in 2015, it has helped to support thousands of people who have been affected by intimate image abuse, with its 2022 report revealing that the Helpline successfully supported the removal of over 280,000 pieces of intimate content online.
Sextortion
Sextortion, also known as webcam blackmail, occurs when intimate images and videos are recorded and used for financial exploitation and coercion.
As previously noted, sextortion has been the most reported form of intimate image abuse received by the Helpline, comprising 40% of the calls they received in 2022. The recent surge in sextortion cases follows a campaign by the Helpline to raise awareness about this form of abuse.
To find out more about sextortion, including the most common ways to notice a sextortion blackmailer and what to do if you, or someone you know, has been affected by this issue, you can visit the Revenge Porn Helpline’s Sextortion Awareness hub.
Support for Intimate Image Abuse
The Revenge Porn Helpline is able to support all adults in the UK who have been affected by intimate image abuse. The Helpline is open Monday to Friday 10am to 4pm (excluding bank holidays) and can be accessed by calling 0345 6000 459 or by emailing help@revengepornhelpline.org.uk.
For out-of-hours support the Revenge Porn Helpline also offers a 24/7 chatbot, which can be accessed on the bottom right corner of their website. For more information about intimate image abuse, visit www.revengepornhelpline.org.uk.
Anyone located outside of the UK who has been affected by intimate image abuse can find a list of organisations that may be able to support them on the Revenge Porn Helpline website.
StopNCII.org
For adults who have been affected by intimate image abuse or non-consensual intimate image sharing, StopNCII.org is a free tool designed to support and prevent these issues on a global scale.
Developed by SWGfL and Meta, the tool works by creating hashes (digital fingerprints) of selected images. Hashes are only shared with StopNCII.org and participating companies, with the images in question, never leaving your device.
Find out more about the tool by visiting StopNCII.org.
