Dear Friend,

“Life-ruining.”  “Hell on earth.”  “A nightmare . . . which destroyed everything.”  

These are the words survivors used to describe their experiences with image-based sexual abuse (IBSA).

If you don’t know what “image-based sexual abuse” is, you’re not the only one. But even if you haven’t heard the term before, chances are quite high that this type of abuse has affected someone you know. Because while “image-based sexual abuse” is a new and emerging term, it is an all-too-common phenomenon.  

So let’s start with more commonly known terms: 

Leaked nudes.

Revenge pornography.

Upskirting. 

Downblousing. 

Deepfake pornography.  

Do any of those sound more familiar? The various types of abuses these terms describe are all encompassed under the umbrella term of “image-based sexual abuse” (IBSA).  

In a nutshell, IBSA is the creating, threatening to share, sharing, or using of recordings (still images or videos) of sexually explicit or sexualized materials without the consent of the person depicted and/or for purposes of exploitation.

It only takes an instant for anyone to become a victim of IBSA, through any of the aforementioned ways. It only takes someone hitting the “record” or the “share” button. But that one quick instant can spark a never-ending cycle of abuse and trauma, as survivors’ images are continually circulated on the internet for anyone to see.   

SO WHAT CAN BE DONE?

The National Center on Sexual Exploitation is building solutions to confront IBSA, including survivor services, stronger state and federal legislation, civil litigation, online platform responsibility to remove non-consensual sexually explicit imagery swiftly, survivor-centered removal forms, and more. 

YOU CAN HELP!

1. Sign this petition to urge Congress to support the PROTECT Act, a piece of federal legislation that powerfully combats IBSA.