Non consensual Image based Sexual Offending Bridging Legal and Psychological Perspectives

“The growth, and popularity, of the Internet is unprecedented. The rise of Internet usage has coincided with a variety of transnational forms of non-consensual image-based sexual offending. This book is a comprehensive exposé of this contemporary issue covering various aspects such as perpetrator motivations, impacts on victims/survivors and ultimately what can be done to stop this terrible crime. In doing so it makes an important contribution to this relatively unresearched topic.”

– Dr. Matthew Hall, Arden University, Coventry, United Kingdom

This book presents a timely analysis of the psychological influences, underpinnings, and predictors of non-consensual image-based sexual offending (NCIBSO), such as revenge pornography, cyber-flashing, deepfake media production and upskirting. In this rapidly expanding field, this book offers a novel perspective that encompasses both a forensic psychoanalytic analysis of offending behaviours and an examination of the influence of our use of online environments and digital platforms on these behaviours. The authors begin by outlining the historical and legal context before moving on to a critique of previously posited motivating factors. Rather than conceptualising NCIBSO in purely gendered terms, they demonstrate the potential for a psychological framework to facilitate a better understanding of how and why people engage in a range of non-consensual sexual image offences. In doing so it will provide fresh insights for policymakers and clinicians, in addition to scholars from across the fields of psychology, sociology, criminology, law, media and gender studies.

Dean Fido is a lecturer in psychology at the University of Derby, UK. He has written and published papers on non-consensual image-based sexual offending specifically, as well as personality traits with the potential to motivate and drive such sexual offending more broadly.

Craig A. Harper is a senior lecturer in psychology and associate course leader (MSc Forensic Psychology) at Nottingham Trent University and Alumni Fellow of the University of Lincoln, UK. His research focuses on attitudes and responses to sexual offending and related topics. He is a member of the Heterodox Academy - an international organisation that seeks to promote intellectual and viewpoint diversity in higher education contexts.