Sextortion refers to making threats to share nude or sexual images to coerce the victim into complying with certain demands, such as paying a ransom, sharing intimate images, or engaging in unwanted acts. Sextortion occurs in a diverse range of contexts, including intimate partner abuse, cyberbullying, sexuality or sex worker “outing,” online dating, “cybersex,” sex trafficking, online sexual exploitation of children, computer hacking, and organized crime. Despite the heightened media focus, few studies have measured the prevalence, nature, and impacts of sextortion. We conducted a scoping review with the aim of providing a comprehensive overview of existing empirical research on sextortion victimization and perpetration among youth and adults. In total, 24 studies were identified based on predefined eligibility criteria. We found that studies focusing on youth reported prevalence ranging from 0.7% to 5.0%, while studies involving adults ranged from 4.0% to 18.7%. The review found that young people and sexual minorities are more likely to experience victimization, while men, young people, and sexual minorities are more likely to self-report engaging in sextortion offending. The review found that perpetrators are more likely to be intimate partners or other known persons as opposed to strangers and that there was an overlap between sextortion perpetration and victimization. Finally, we also found that sextortion can result in significant harms, and that reporting and help-seeking remain very low due to shame, fear, and negative perceptions of police and digital platforms. The findings highlight existing gaps and provide recommendations for future research, policy, and practice.

中文翻译：

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性勒索：范围界定审查


性勒索是指威胁分享裸体或性图片，以胁迫受害者遵守某些要求，例如支付赎金、分享私密图片或从事不受欢迎的行为。性勒索发生在多种情况下，包括亲密伴侣虐待、网络欺凌、性行为或性工作者“外出”、在线约会、“网络性行为”、性贩运、对儿童的在线性剥削、计算机黑客攻击和有组织犯罪。尽管媒体高度关注，但很少有研究衡量性勒索的普遍性、性质和影响。我们进行了一项范围审查，旨在全面概述关于青少年和成人性勒索受害和实施的现有实证研究。总共根据预定义的合格标准确定了 24 项研究。我们发现，针对青少年的研究报告的患病率为 0.7% 至 5.0%，而涉及成人的研究的患病率为 4.0% 至 18.7%。审查发现，年轻人和性少数群体更有可能遭受伤害，而男性、年轻人和性少数群体更有可能自我报告从事性勒索犯罪。审查发现，与陌生人相比，肇事者更有可能是亲密伴侣或其他已知人士，并且性勒索实施和受害之间存在重叠。最后，我们还发现，性勒索会导致重大伤害，并且由于羞耻、恐惧和对警察和数字平台的负面看法，报告和寻求帮助仍然非常低。研究结果突出了存在的差距，并为未来的研究、政策和实践提供了建议。