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‘It’s Torture for the Soul’: The Harms of Image-Based Sexual Abuse
Open accessAbstract
Beyond ‘scandals’ and the public testimonies of victim-survivors, surprisingly little is known about the nature and extent of the harms of ‘image-based sexual abuse’, a term that includes all non-consensual taking and/or sharing of nude or sexual images. Accordingly, this article examines the findings from the first cross-national qualitative study on this issue, drawing on interviews with 75 victim-survivors of image-based sexual abuse in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. We adopt a feminist phenomenological approach that permits more nuanced and holistic understandings of victim-survivors’ experiences, moving beyond medicalised, trauma-based accounts of harm. Our analysis develops five interconnected accounts of the harms experienced, that we have termed social rupture, constancy, existential threat, isolation and constrained liberty. Our findings shed new light on the nature and significance of the harms of image-based sexual abuse that emphasises the need for more comprehensive and effective responses to these abuses.
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“While there were many forms this took, one of the most common ones that emerged is the non-consensual sharing of intimate images -otherwise known as image-based abuse or more commonly image-based sexual abuse (McGlynn et al. 2021).”
From Technology-facilitated sexual violence perpetration as a tool for gender policing in secondary schools (2026) · cites this paper as McGlynn et al. 2021
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Metadata
- Authors
- McGlynn, C., Johnson, K., Rackley, E., Henry, N., Gavey, N., Flynn, A., & Powell, A.
- Affiliations
- Durham University (GB)
- University of Kent (GB)
- RMIT University (AU)
- University of Auckland (NZ)
- Monash University (AU)
- Corresponding author
- McGlynn, Clare
- Venue
- Social & Legal Studies
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2020-08-19
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 541-562
- ISSN
- 0964-6639 (ISSN-L)
- 1461-7390
- OpenAlex
- W3044344833
- Cited by
- 214
- References
- 57
- Citations by year
- 2026: 39 · 2025: 56 · 2024: 44 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 26.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Update notices
- correction (2020-10-05)
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Social & Legal Studies (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- University of Birmingham Research Portal (University of Birmingham) (publishedVersion)
- Durham Research Online (Durham University) (acceptedVersion, other-oa)
- ENLIGHTEN (Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling Islam) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Durham Research Online (Durham University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Kent Academic Repository (University of Kent) (submittedVersion, public-domain)
- Monash University Research Portal (Monash University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- RMIT Research Repository (RMIT University Library) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Funders
- Australian research council (DP170101433)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Stalking, Cyberstalking, and Harassment
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Feminism, and Media
- Keywords
- image-based sexual abuse, social rupture, existential risk, isolation, feminist phenomenology, cross-national comparison
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