“Snaps”, “screenshots”, and self-blame: A qualitative study of image-based sexual abuse victimization among adolescent Danish girls
Abstract
Image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) refers to the nonconsensual production, dissemination or threat of disseminating private sexual images with the use of digital technologies. This study explores adolescent girls’ experiences of IBSA victimization based on a thematic analysis of 157 posts collected from an anonymous online counselling hotline in Denmark. The analysis shows that 104 of the 157 posts describe experiences of IBSA and that the psychological consequences of IBSA are characterized by negative emotions such as fear, worry, sadness, self-harm and suicidal thoughts. Furthermore, the analysis shows how the technological affordances of social media applications, such as the taking of screenshots on Snapchat, play an important role in facilitating the IBSA. Lastly, the study shows that 52 of the 104 adolescent girls, who had experienced IBSA, blamed themselves for their victimization, explaining this as a result of their own stupidity, naïveté and poor judgement. These findings are discussed in relation to the gendered victim blaming discourses on youth sexting, which have represented sexting teen girls as naïve and foolish and responsibilized them for the misuse of their images. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, and suggestions for future research are presented.
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Only a minority of cases involved perpetrators obtaining images without the victim's awareness, such as through webcam access.
“Only a minority of cases involved perpetrators obtaining images without the victim’s awareness, such as through webcam access (Cross et al., 2022; Mandau, 2021).”
From Sextortion: A Scoping Review (2025) · cites this paper as Mandau, 2021
Sextortion can result in significant harms.
“sextortion can result in significant harms”
From Sextortion: A Scoping Review (2025) · cites this paper as Mandau, 2021
Victims of sextortion often experience fear, humiliation, shame, and self-blame.
“Victims of sextortion often experience fear, humiliation, shame, and self-blame (Henry et al., 2023; Mandau, 2021; Trendell, 2019; Walsh & Tener, 2022)”
From Sextortion: A Scoping Review (2025) · cites this paper as Mandau, 2021
Sextortion can result in significant harms, inducing or exacerbating a range of negative emotions, including fear, anxiety, anger, humiliation, shame, and self-blame.
“Sextortion can result in significant harms, inducing or exacerbating a range of negative emotions, including fear, anxiety, anger, humiliation, shame, and self-blame (Henry et al., 2023; Mandau, 2021; Trendell, 2019; Walsh & Tener, 2022).”
From Sextortion: A Scoping Review (2025) · cites this paper as Mandau, 2021
Sextortion is associated with significant harms, including anxiety, depression, shame, fear of exposure, social withdrawal, financial loss, and suicidal ideation, and these consequences often persist beyond the immediate incident.
“Regardless of age or gender, sextortion is associated with significant harms, including anxiety, depression, shame, fear of exposure, social withdrawal, financial loss, and suicidal ideation, and these consequences often persist beyond the immediate incident”
From Constructing Offender Typologies From Judicial Data: A Clustering Analysis of Sextortion Cases (2026) · cites this paper as Mandau, 2021
Cites
Using thematic analysis in psychology
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Teen girls, sexual double standards and ‘sexting’: Gendered value in digital image exchange
Ringrose, J., Harvey, L., Gill, R., & Livingstone, S. (2013) · Feminist Theory · doi:10.1177/1464700113499853 · Cited by 618 · see citing works
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Sexting, consent and young people's ethics: Beyond <i>Megan's Story</i>
Albury, K., & Crawford, K. (2012) · Continuum · doi:10.1080/10304312.2012.665840 · Cited by 236 · see citing works
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‘It’s Torture for the Soul’: The Harms of Image-Based Sexual Abuse
McGlynn, C., Johnson, K., Rackley, E., Henry, N., Gavey, N., Flynn, A., & Powell, A. (2021) · Social & Legal Studies · doi:10.1177/0964663920947791 · Cited by 214 · see citing works
Privates in the online public: Sex(ting) and reputation on social media
Salter, M. (2016) · New Media & Society · doi:10.1177/1461444815604133 · Cited by 165 · see citing works
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Unsolicited dick pics: Erotica, exhibitionism or entitlement?
Hayes, R. M., & Dragiewicz, M. (2018) · Women's Studies International Forum · doi:10.1016/j.wsif.2018.07.001 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
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Ray, A., & Henry, N. (2025) · Trauma, Violence, & Abuse · doi:10.1177/15248380241277271 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Image-Based Sexual Abuse as a Means of Coercive Control: Victim-Survivor Experiences
Henry, N., Gavey, N., & Johnson, K. (2023) · Violence Against Women · doi:10.1177/10778012221114918 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Online Sexual Harassment in Adolescence: A Scoping Review
Angela, F., María-Luisa, R.-D., Annalaura, N., & Ersilia, M. (2024) · Sexuality Research and Social Policy · doi:10.1007/s13178-023-00869-1 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
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Suicidal Ideation Among Male Victim-Survivors of Financial Sextortion
Liggett O’Malley, R., & Smith, K. (2025) · Victims & Offenders · doi:10.1080/15564886.2024.2379818 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Teachers vs. Chat GPT: identifying and naming acts of online sexual abuse
Dolev-Cohen, M., & Henry, N. (2025) · Information, Communication & Society · doi:10.1080/1369118x.2025.2492585 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
“Moreover, victims are often blamed for sharing their intimate images in the first place and making themselves targets for abuse (Flynn et al., 2023; Mandau, 2021).”
Constructing Offender Typologies From Judicial Data: A Clustering Analysis of Sextortion Cases
Wang, F., & Pei, W. (2026) · Sexual Abuse · doi:10.1177/10790632261434143
“…anxiety, depression, shame, fear of exposure, social withdrawal, fi nancial loss, and suicidal ideation, and these consequences often persist beyond the immediate incident, disrupting victims ’ personal, social, and professional lives (Henry et al., 2023; Mandau, 2021; Walsh & Tener, 2022).”
- Authors
- Mandau, M. B. H.
- Affiliations
- Aarhus University (DK)
- Corresponding author
- Mandau, Morten Birk Hansen
- Venue
- Journal of Children and Media
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2020-11-28
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 431-447
- ISSN
- 1748-2798 (ISSN-L)
- 1748-2801
- OpenAlex
- W3108915088
- Cited by
- 68
- References
- 10
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 2
- FWCI
- 7.49
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Children and Media (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- No funding received
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Feminism, and Media
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Stalking, Cyberstalking, and Harassment
- Keywords
- image-based sexual abuse, adolescent girls, self-blame, victim blaming, psychological impact, self-harm, suicidal ideation, Snapchat, social media affordances, online counseling, gender discourse, Danish adolescents
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