Participate in Research
Full Transcript:
"Have you ever had your intimate, private, or sexual images taken without your consent or knowledge? Has someone shared or threatened you to share such images without your permission? Have you ever received an unsolicited explicit image? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may have experienced image-based abuse and your story could help fight against this pervasive issue by participating in a research study.
Hello, my name is Julia, and I’m researching on image-based abuse victimisation in Scotland where I seek to speak to people who have experienced this form of abuse. It is a rising concern that involves three main behaviours: the creation or taking of intimate, private, sexual, or sexualized images without permission, the sharing or distribution of such images without permission, and the threat to have such images shared regardless of them actually existing.
This type of abuse can include any image that is invasive or violating to an individual and range from photographs to videos or gifs. Images may have been taken with permission or they were created non-consensually, such as through hidden devices, creep-shots, or during a sexual assault.
Images may be shared through social media, messaging apps, cloud servers, or as physical copies. Image-based abuse can take many forms, including relationship retribution, sextortion cases, voyeurism, sexploitation, the depiction of a sexual assault, or cyberflashing. The perpetrator may be known or unknown to the person who experienced it.
Regardless of what is experienced or what form image-based abuse takes, all voices deserve to be heard and all experiences are valid.
In my research study, I seek to speak with people who have experienced image-based abuse through one-on-one interviews that can be held virtually or in person. This will help us better understand the experiences and impacts of this form of abuse and inform support practices and policy responses. If you live in Scotland and have experienced image-based abuse in any form as an adult, you are invited to participate. I’m particularly keen to hear from diverse gender identities and sexualities. Participation in the study is voluntary and confidential, and necessary steps are taken to protect the privacy of participants.
If you have experienced image-based abuse and wish to share your story, you can contact me using the form on my website or through my social media channels. Your story can help bring about meaningful change by highlighting the complex and diverse experiences of image-based abuse, promoting greater awareness, and ultimately aiding Scotland’s efforts to reduce and combat gender-based violence."