Theories of Image-Based Sexual Abuse

Abstract

Social scholars have suggested that the use of image-based sexual abuse can be explained by a gendered need for power and control, with this just another manifestation of how such control can be exerted on women within the current technologically driven world. Although we acknowledge the importance of this theoretical work, in this chapter we argue that this theoretical approach is reductionist, neglects offences committed against men, and is not in keeping with wider sexual offending literature. Here, we present on our current working theories of image-based sexual abuse and outline some of the potential psychological concepts that may help us to understand how and why people engage in these offences. Specifically, we draw on theories of sexual offending to offer testable hypotheses alongside potential explanations for the various manifestations of image-based sexual abuse in the hope of motivating scholars to develop research portfolios in these areas.