What is sextortion actually and is it your own fault?

This week I was scrolling through my Stories on Instagram and accidentally ended up in a short questionnaire. One of the questions was: is it your fault if nude images of you are posted online? In a natural movement, I of course clicked ‘no’, but not everyone did that.

The handy thing about these kinds of polls is that you can immediately see the results yourself. What turned out? More than half thought that the person in question was also guilty of the online appearance of nude photos or videos. I was perplexed. Because a) it is not okay for someone else to share images of you against your will and b) it often involves blackmail. In this latter case, it has a name, namely sextortion. The blackmailer threatens to post nude images of you online unless you pay.

What you especially do not need in these kinds of cases? Someone who says it is your own fault because the images exist at all. And judging by the results of that poll on Instagram, that is still frighteningly often thought. Sexually tinted images are often obtained through a hack, meaning someone has no influence over the distribution. But even if you shared an image in confidence, it is not done to further distribute this.

In the case of sextortion, men up to 26 years old are also more often victims than women, research shows from Helpwanted.nl. Research among the victims showed that 31 percent paid the demanded amount, often out of a sense of guilt or shame. Sextortion has exploded since the lockdown, as many young people exchanged images online due to a lack of social contacts.

What do you do if you see or receive a sexually tinted image of someone online via social media? Report it immediately to the person in question and especially do not spread the images further. If you do this, you are part of the problem and in some cases even punishable.

If you see images of yourself, contact the site immediately and let them know that you did not give permission for publication. Is someone blackmailing you with sexually tinted photos? Report this immediately to the police or via Helpwanted.nl, they know what steps you can take.

And no matter what happens, remember well: this is never your own fault.