Student perceptions of Sexual Image Based Abuse and support. An exploratory case study

Sexual Image Based Abuse, more commonly known as ‘revenge pornography’ has been a growing problem in the UK in recent years. The enactment of the Criminal Justice & Courts Act in 2015 which coincided with the development of the UK Universities taskforce (UUK 2016) with a remit to address all forms of sexual violence and harassment on campus, created an opportune time to conduct research under the auspices of the Mandala project at DMU which investigated undergraduate students’ awareness around the phenomenon. This was a staff/student collaborated project. The exploratory study was undertaken at De Montfort University across all four faculties. The research contributes to Mandala in reflecting the University’s current situation regarding student perceptions of the prevalence of SIBA and student knowledge of the support/protection available to them. The research benefits the university as an organisation and student safety alongside modelling dignity and respect for the emotional well-being of the student community. It is hoped in turn it will also increase staff knowledge and reap as yet unidentified community benefits (feeding into a wider evaluation) in terms of contributing to policy and practice.