A systematic review of the current knowledge regarding revenge pornography and non-consensual sharing of sexually explicit media

The aim of this review was to synthesize the current literature regarding revenge pornography and the non-consensual sharing of sexually explicit media. A systematic search was made of five databases using relevant search terms. From these searches, 82 articles were retained for inclusion within the systematic review. The literature spanned areas of research including legal, theory, as well as psychology related empirical papers. The findings show that particularly in the U.S., but in other countries as well, there are significant concerns regarding the implementation of revenge pornography legislation, despite this being recognized as an important endeavor. Non-consensual sharing perpetration and victimization rates can vary considerably according to how the behavior is defined and measured, however, these behaviors were evident for a considerable number of individuals across both genders.

Publisher Statement: NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Aggression and Violent Behavior. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Aggression and Violent Behavior, [36, September-October, (2017)] DOI: 10.1016/j.avb.2017.06.010
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