'Sextortion' Rose During Pandemic — Especially for Men

Experts feared from early on that the pandemic would increase instances of revenge porn and sexual blackmail. Unfortunately, it seems that they were right. According to a new study, sexual blackmail increased during the pandemic — and men were disproportionately targeted.

The new study, which was published this morning in the journal Victims & Offenders, surveyed about 2,000 Americans. Researchers asked participants if they had ever been victims of sextortion, which they defined as “the act of threatening to expose a nude or sexually explicit image in order to get a person to do something such as send more nude or sexually explicit images, pay someone money or perform sexual acts,” according to the study. Basically, scientists asked people if anyone had ever tried to use their nudes to get them to send money or more nudes — a.k.a. blackmail.

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