Sextortion and revenge-porn are growing forms of digital abuse, yet victims often receive uneven
responses from the criminal justice system. Sextortion (the coercive use of intimate or explicit
images for financial gain) is more likely to target males, in particular teenage boys, who are
approached by often organised offenders for financial gain. Whereas revenge-porn (the non-consesual sharing of intimate images) disproportionately affects girls and young women, and is often connected to relationships or peer dynamics.
These gendered patterns shape who reports, how cases are classified, and how institutions respond. Previous studies of sexual offending shows how strongly gender affects credibility assessments and early decisions. Attrition is common, as the ever-evolving online space outpaces criminal justice practises. There is growing concern that sextortion and revenge-porn follow different attrition pathways, but no research has examined these differences directly.
This PhD will be the first study of its kind to analyse how gender and offence type influence
attrition and criminal justice outcomes in England. I will carry out quantitative analysis of
police data and ethnographic observation within investigative or safeguarding units to understand
early decision-making in practise.
My interest is rooted in personal experience. As a teenager I was made a victim of revenge-porn and have worked with the NSPCC as a lived experience advocate to advise institutions on how to tackle this growing issue of online abuse. This project aims to support the development of secure,
effective, and trusted criminal justice institutions that are better equipped to respond to digital abuse.