"Korean Women Rank 1st in Sexual Image Blackmail Victimization and Perpetration"

Korea, 19.1% of Female Victims and 16.3% of Female Perpetrators
"Some Threatened Women Seem to Have Retaliated Similarly"

One in five Korean women has been threatened with the distribution of sexual images. While men were primarily the victims in other countries, Korea was the only country where women were more affected. The proportion of women victims who were also perpetrators of threats was high.

On the 7th, according to the international academic journal Human Behavior and Computers, Professor Nicola Henry of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in Australia and Senior Researcher Rebecca Umbach from Google recently published survey research results on threats related to the distribution of sexual images.

People watching sexual exploitation materials. Stock photo unrelated to the article. (CG)
Photo by Yonhap News TV

The research team surveyed 16,693 people from 10 countries including Korea, the United States, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain. Among the respondents, 14.5% reported having experienced threats to distribute sexual images, and 4.8% admitted to having perpetrated such threats.

The United States, Australia, Mexico, and Korea showed higher rates of reported victimization, while European countries had lower reporting rates.

In most countries, threats to distribute sexual images targeted young men primarily for financial extortion, resulting in a higher proportion of male victims. However, Korea was the only country where women had a higher victimization rate.

Among Korean women, 19.1% reported being victims, the highest rate among the 10 countries surveyed, and 16.3% admitted to perpetrating such threats, which was significantly higher than in other countries. In other countries, the proportion of women admitting to perpetration ranged only from 1.1% to 5.3%, showing a large gap.

The proportion of Korean women who experienced both victimization and perpetration was 15.2%, the highest among all countries. The research team suggested that the widespread prevalence of image-based sexual abuse in Korea might be the reason for this characteristic.

The most common perpetrators were former or current partners, while male victims often reported being harmed by colleagues or caregivers.

Professor Henry explained, "It is possible to hypothesize that some people threatened with distribution may retaliate by threatening to share the victim’s images as well."

Researcher Umbach stated, "There is almost no research on sexual exploitation of adults, only studies on minors or specific groups. The survey results show that sexual exploitation of adults is common and that more research and resources are needed."

Google expressed hope that this research will broaden understanding of image-based sexual exploitation issues and support further investment in innovation.