LGBTQ+ people are two times more likely to be victims and perpetrators of sexual extortion than non-LGBTQ+ community members, a study of more than 16,000 adults across Australia, North and Central America, Europe and Asia has found.
Conducted by RMIT University, the research found one in seven adults has experienced sexual extortion, also known as “sextortion”, whereby someone threatens to share intimate photos or videos of a victim unless they comply with the perpetrator’s behavioural or financial demands.
It found LGBTQ+ people, men and younger respondents were more likely to report both victimisation and perpetration.
The most common type of perpetrator was a former or current partner, but men were more likely than women to report being victimised by a colleague or carers.
The study found LGBTQ+ respondents were 2.07 times more likely to experience sextortion, with 26.6 per cent of LGBTQ+ respondents indicating at least one instance of being threatened compared to 12.8 per cent of non-LGBT respondents.
A similar pattern was also seen in relation to offending behaviours, with 12.1 per cent of LGBTQ+ respondents having threatened someone else, compared to just 4.8 per cent of non-LGBTQ+ respondents. This equates to LGBTQ+ being 2.51 times more likely to be offenders than non-LGBTQ people.
Researchers concluded that LGBTQ+ people were at a greater risk of falling victim to sextortion, as intimate content could be used as a threat to “out” them due to stigma surrounding sexuality and sexual freedom of expression.
The other potential reason was the disproportionate use of dating apps among LGBTQ+ groups, particularly as the point of dating apps was to facilitate interactions with strangers.
Lead researcher Professor Nicola Henry said the research showed that sextortion was far more likely to be initiated by an intimate partner.
“This is particularly common in intimate partner abuse where a partner or an ex threatens to share intimate images to coerce the victim into doing or not doing something, such as staying in the relationship, pursuing an intervention order, refusing custody of children, or engaging in an unwanted sexual act,” she said.
Regardless of gender, intimate partners were the most likely instigators, with a third saying it was a former partner and one in six saying it was a current partner. There were no significant differences between non-LGBTQ+ respondents and LGBTQ+ respondents in this regard.
Women were 1.5 times more likely than men to report being victimised by a former partner, while men were more likely than women to report being victimised by a work colleague.
Henry said a range of measures were needed to help prevent and respond to sextortion around the world.
“First and foremost, prevention education at the school, university, and community levels needs to be tailored specifically to at-risk groups, especially boys and young men,” she said.
“More funding and resources are needed for supporting victim-survivors of sextortion, including for counselling, legal advice, and mental health crisis support.”
Eliot Hastie is a senior news producer at Channel Ten, reporting on a range of general stories, specialising in foreign affairs and LGBTQ+ stories. He’s also a reporter for Gay Sydney News, where he covers LGBTQIA+ culture, politics and nightlife. He previously helped to build and launch ausbiz, Australia's only live streaming finance news channel, where he was also an executive producer and host. He has previously worked as a finance and business journalist for publications including Fintech Business, Real Estate Business and other Momentum Media titles. Eliot holds a journalism degree from the University of Westminster and brings experience in both broadcast and digital reporting. Contact Eliot: eliot.hastie@gaysydneynews.com.au
