Insights from eSafety’s image-based abuse reporting and removal scheme
Image-based abuse is when someone shares, or threatens to share, an intimate image or video of a person without their consent. Sexual extortion is a type of image-based abuse when someone tries to blackmail a person over a nude or sexual image or video of them.
This research examined data from the eSafety image-based abuse scheme to provide a descriptive overview of eSafety’s experience in receiving reports under the first five years of the scheme.
Summary of key findings
Between August 2018 and June 2023, there were 19,468 reports under eSafety’s image-based abuse scheme. Of these:
- 62.8% were from men and 34.6% were from women
- 62.1% were for sexual extortion, 78.2% of which were reported by men, and 60% by those aged 18 to 24
- 14.6% were for child sexual exploitation, 63.6% of which were reported by boys or men.
Complaints involving other forms of image-based abuse, including sharing and threatening to share intimate images outside of sexual extortion, were more commonly reported by women.
We also found that reports to the image-based abuse scheme increased by more than 960%, from 849 reports in 2018/19 to 9,060 reports in 2022/23. This was led by:
- 1,332.2% increase in reports for sexual extortion (432 to 6,187)
- 2,206.6% increase in reports for child sexual exploitation (61 to 1,407).
The image-based abuse scheme enables eSafety to engage directly with online service and platforms to get the intimate content removed. Between August 2018 and June 2023, eSafety:
- issued 9,520 reports of user behaviour to online services and platforms, with 80% of these reports leading to removal of the users’ accounts
- sent 1,961 removal requests to online services and platforms and were successful in having all or some of the material removed for 89.9% of these requests.
About this research
This research draws on data from reports to the eSafety image-based abuse scheme from 18 August 2018 to 30 June 2023, providing insights into reporting trends under the scheme and eSafety’s responses to reports.
The research found that over its first five years of operation, eSafety’s image-based abuse scheme has increasingly helped remove harmful content and enabled Australian victims of image-based abuse to access expert assistance, regain control over their situation, and to receive practical support to help them feel safer online.
The increasing number of reports over the first five years of the scheme highlights the importance of community awareness-raising and preventative education, as well as investment in initiatives that destigmatise and de-shame image-based abuse and encourage help-seeking. This is especially important for emerging forms of image-based abuse, such as sexual extortion, where there is little community awareness of the issue. Ultimately, however, responsibility and accountability for image-based abuse primarily sits with abusers, with sexual violence prevention and response work also critical to reducing abuse rates.
The study and its findings are described in detail in a freely-accessible in the Journal of Online Trust and Safety.
Helpful resources
About image-based abuse or ‘revenge porn’: How to recognise it and take action.
How to deal with sexual extortion: How to recognise it, take action, and protect yourself.
Someone is threatening to share my nudes: Advice for young people.
Managing the impacts of image-based abuse: Strategies for coping and minimising harm.
How to help someone deal with image-based abuse: Guidance on supporting victims.
Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE): Guidance from Australia’s national body that combats child sexual grooming and abuse.
Sexual extortion trends and challenges – position statement: In-depth analysis from eSafety.