Sexual Victimization in the Digital Age: A Population-Based Study of Physical and Image-Based Sexual Abuse Among Adolescents

Adolescents increasingly use social media platforms, and these practices open up new forms of sexual victimization, in particular image-based sexual abuse (IBSA). Few studies have examined prevalence rates and correlates of both physical sexual victimization (PSV) and these new forms of victimization in representative samples. We used data from 5,245 adolescent girls (53%) and 4,580 adolescent boys (47%) from the population-based Young in Oslo Study (mean age 17.1 years, SD = 0.9). Of all respondents, 2.9% had experienced IBSA, 4.3% PSV, and 1.7% both IBSA and PSV in the course of the previous 12 months. Multivariate analyses revealed that PSV victims, after control for other variables, had many characteristics described in previous studies of sexual victimization. Girls had higher prevalence rates than boys, many had been victims of other types of violence, and were part of peer groups with much use of alcohol and drugs. PSV victims also reported early intercourse onset and a higher proportion had been commercially sexually exploited. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual adolescents had higher victimization rates. Victims of both PSV and IBSA had a similar but even more pronounced profile. The IBSA victims were different: They lacked many of the traditional risk factors for sexual victimization, there were no significant gender differences in this group, and IBSA victims more often came from high socioeconomic backgrounds. In conclusion, we observe a reconfigured landscape of sexual victimization patterns among Norway adolescents due to their increasing participation on social media and digital platforms.

Automated summary

This study found that adolescents are increasingly experiencing sexual victimization, particularly image-based sexual abuse, through their use of social media platforms. The prevalence rates of both physical sexual victimization (PSV) and image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) were examined in a representative sample of Norwegian adolescents. The study revealed that 2.9% of respondents had experienced IBSA, 4.3% had experienced PSV, and 1.7% had experienced both in the past 12 months. There were differences in the characteristics of the victims of PSV and IBSA, with girls reporting higher rates, victims having experienced other forms of violence, and being part of peer groups with substance use. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual adolescents also had higher victimization rates. The findings highlight the changing landscape of sexual victimization patterns in relation to adolescents' use of social media platforms.