What is revenge porn?
March Against Revenge Porn: Pittsburgh (2018)
Leah Juliett at the White House (2016).
“Revenge porn” is a nickname for the abhorrent practice of nonconsensual distribution of sexually graphic images and videos of an individual without their consent. Deemed by educators, lawmakers, and activists as tech-based sexual abuse, child sexual abuse material (CSAM) cyber sexual exploitation, sexual cyber-harassment, or image-based sexual abuse (IBSA), “revenge porn” is not about revenge nor is it about pornography. Revenge porn is about control, power, and abuse.
March Against Revenge Porn utilizes the term “revenge porn” within our organization name as a foot-in-the-door advocacy and education tactic. Revenge porn is the most commonly used phrase by media and the general public when referring to the practice of image abuse. With its name in the title, March Against Revenge Porn actively educates about the ways in which “revenge porn” is an inherently problematic name. We encourage you to use the terms “tech-based sexual abuse” and “image-based sexual abuse” in your conversations and advocacy work.
While utilizing the name March Against Revenge Porn, we actively fight against the hypersexualization, pornographization, and victim blaming of victims and survivors of image abuse by media and others. Our bodies are not pornography. Our bodies are not revenge.
Who gets victimized?
Revenge porn victimizes an estimated 10 million internet users in the United States. International data indicates that 1 in 3 are victims worldwide.
17% of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people in comparison to 2% of heterosexual people
1/10 young women (age 15-29)
Disproportionately Black and Brown
Disproportionately low-income and financially insecure
Data from Data and Research Society