{"id":36165,"date":"2026-05-11T20:00:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T12:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/srn\/?p=36165"},"modified":"2026-05-11T09:10:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T01:10:06","slug":"decades-of-image-based-sexual-abuse-how-perpetrators-evade-tech-platforms-and-the-authorities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/srn\/2026\/05\/11\/decades-of-image-based-sexual-abuse-how-perpetrators-evade-tech-platforms-and-the-authorities\/","title":{"rendered":"Decades of image-based sexual abuse: How perpetrators evade tech platforms and the authorities"},"content":{"rendered":"

As digital technologies become more embedded in everyday life, the nature of sexual harm is shifting in ways that increasingly challenge existing regulations and social understanding. In Singapore, recent developments show how image-based sexual abuse has evolved alongside advances in artificial intelligence (AI), transforming from the non-consensual sharing of real images into the creation and circulation of highly realistic synthetic content. This blurring of what is \u2018real\u2019 and \u2018fabricated\u2019 expands the speed and persistence with which such violations occur.<\/p>\n

Combining interviews with affected individuals and experts, analysis of reported cases, and engagement with existing academic research, \u2018Decades of image-based sexual abuse: How perpetrators evade tech platforms and the authorities\u2019 (Straits Times<\/em>, May 2026) reports the persistence and evolution of image-based sexual abuse, highlighting how perpetrators continue to exploit gaps in platform governance and legal enforcement.\u00a0 It draws on the findings of Assistant Professor Michelle Ho (NUS Communications and New Media) and the university\u2019s Campus Sexual Misconduct in the Digital Age (CASMIDA) project team, who have been investigating the issue of online sexual harms in local universities since 2021. Their research culminated in two articles: \u00a0\u2018Detrimental to Our Digital Well-Being: Campus Sexual Misconduct and Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence Among University Students in Singapore\u2019 (Violence Against Women<\/em>, 2024) by Assistant Professor Michelle Ho, Dr Shivani Gupta (NUS College), Associate Professor Jungup Lee (NUS Social Work), Associate Professor Bimlesh Wadhwa (NUS Computer Science), and Xinhong Fu (NUS Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy), and \u2018\u201cWhen everything goes online, it\u2019s never really gone\u201d: understanding technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) in Singapore\u2019 (Journal of Gender Studies<\/em>, 2025) by Assistant Professor Michelle Ho, Ng Wi En (NTU Communication and Information), Angela Louise Rosario (NUS Japanese Studies), Associate Professor Jungup Lee (NUS Social Work), Associate Professor Bimlesh Wadhwa (NUS Computer Science), Associate Professor Olivia Choy (NTU Psychology), and Professor Edson C Tandoc Jr. (NTU Communication and Information). The studies, conducted between 2021 and 2025, found that around two in five university students in Singapore have experienced technology-facilitated sexual violence, with digital harassment and image-based abuse being the most prevalent forms. The persistence of these rates over time suggests that the problem is not episodic but systemic, embedded within the everyday digital environments that students inhabit.<\/p>\n

Recent reporting points to a rapidly adapting ecosystem of abuse. Encrypted and pseudonymous platforms such as Telegram facilitate the circulation of non-consensual intimate images through decentralised networks that are difficult to regulate. These networks often reconstitute themselves after shutdowns, monetise access through digital payments, and exploit viral mechanisms to expand their reach. At the same time, the growing accessibility of AI tools has lowered the technical barrier to producing deepfake sexual content, allowing perpetrators to generate convincing material with minimal effort. This reflects a broader condition of \u2018regulatory lag\u2019, where technological capabilities outpace legal and institutional responses.<\/p>\n

Taken together, these sources reveal three underlying dynamics that sustain the persistence of image-based sexual abuse. Firstly, technological change has intensified both the production and dissemination of abusive content, making it more scalable and harder to detect. Secondly, enforcement remains fragmented across platforms and jurisdictions. While Singapore is introducing stronger regulatory mechanisms such as an online safety commission with takedown powers, inconsistencies in platform policies and the anonymity of perpetrators continue to limit accountability. Lastly, and perhaps most critically, social norms continue to minimise the severity of such harms. Victim-blaming, gendered assumptions about victimhood, and trivialisation \u2013 especially in cases involving AI-generated content which contribute to under-reporting while exacerbating the psychological toll on survivors.<\/p>\n

Fundamentally, technology-facilitated sexual violence must be understood as a socio-technical phenomenon. The persistence of harm is not solely a function of technological affordances, but also due to regulatory gaps and cultural attitudes that enable and normalise abuse. As digital infrastructures evolve, effective responses will require not only faster and more coordinated institutional interventions, but also a shift in how such harms are recognised and addressed within our society.<\/p>\n

Read the Straits Times <\/em>article here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read \u2018Detrimental to Our Digital Well-Being: Campus Sexual Misconduct and Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence Among University Students in Singapore\u2019 here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read \u2018\u201cWhen everything goes online, it\u2019s never really gone\u201d: understanding technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) in Singapore\u2019 here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Photo: iStock\/Tero Vesalainen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As digital technologies become more embedded in everyday life, the nature of sexual harm is shifting in ways that increasingly challenge existing regulations and social understanding. In Singapore, recent developments show how image-based sexual abuse has evolved alongside advances in artificial intelligence (AI), transforming from the non-consensual sharing of real images into the creation and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":379,"featured_media":36166,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4539,4529,4606,4609,4604],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-communications-and-new-media","category-news","category-research","category-singapore-research-nexus","category-visible"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/srn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/srn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/srn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/srn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/379"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/srn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36165"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/srn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36165\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36169,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/srn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36165\/revisions\/36169"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/srn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/srn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/srn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/srn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}