Research reveals disturbing reason why men send unsolicited genital images; Half of women in the UK say they have been sent this type of photo

Experts who study sexual harassment of women online have uncovered some disturbing reasons why men send unsolicited images of their genitals.

The advent of mobile cameras and dating apps, commonly known as ‘d*** pics’ or ‘cyberflashing’, means nearly half of women have received one of these emerging images.

According to surveys, in the vast majority of cases, the photo is not requested by the woman.

Now a report by the Nordic Foundation for Digital Rights and Equality (Nordef) has revealed some of the reasons for this, as well as the characteristics in men that make them more likely to do this.

Nordef president Thordis Elva said a key factor was that some men, mostly younger groups, were now ‘harmed by porn’ because their views of what was acceptable had been distorted by explicit material online.

‘There are different reasons why men behave the way they do, but we have experienced a change in norms on the internet.

‘We have too much porn and men who are harmed by porn, and boys have a distorted view of how to communicate their sexuality.

In pornography, the sight of the man’s genitals is presented as being welcomed by the woman, leading to the assumption that the same thing will happen in real life.

Ms. Elva’s report also detailed other reasons for cyber exposure; these include the ‘selfish’ hope and compliment that a nude photo will be returned.

The advent of mobile cameras and public social media profiles, commonly known as ‘d*** pics’ or ‘cyberflashing’, has given men an easy way to send sexually explicit images to women for their own perverted pleasure. Stock image

Nordef reached this conclusion by analyzing data from police and courts on cyber flash incidents in Sweden, Denmark and Iceland between 2019 and 2022.

Ms Elva said data showed many cyber flashers would send sexually explicit images to up to 30 women at a time in the hope that at least one of them would get the reaction they wanted in what she called the ‘dehumanisation’ of women as a tool for sexual gratification.

‘This will be like a mass mailing where they don’t care how it’s received,’ he said.

‘Men don’t sit down and think about the psychological impact on women who take these drugs.

‘Completely selfish, they think someone can send a photo back and then it will be sexy.’

The data also showed that many cyber flashers sent images as a ‘test’ to a female friend to see if they could be romantic or sexual partners.

The study also found that six per cent of men have sent such images in an attempt to punish women or assert their masculinity, under the strange logic that they lash out against feminism.

Nordef report It also revealed information about the type of men who use cyber flash.

Earlier this year Nicholas Hawkes became the first person to be jailed in England and Wales under new legislation and was jailed for more than a year after sending an explicit photograph of himself to a 15-year-old girl and another woman.

Most, eight out of 10, were men; The majority were under 40 years of age.

Approximately 52 percent of the images sent to women are from strangers, followed by 17 percent from people they matched with on dating apps and 15 percent from people they know.

About seven percent were sent as part of harassment by a co-worker.

Nordef hopes its findings will lead to the creation of preventative measures to prevent men from engaging in digital harassment against women.

Cyber ​​flashing became a crime in England and Wales earlier this year, with those found guilty facing up to two years in prison.

This is according to a 2021 study that found that 32 percent of girls aged 12 to 18 had received unsolicited nude photos from men or boys.

The legislation follows Scotland, which made cyber flashing a specific offense a decade ago, and Northern Ireland at the end of last year.

Earlier this year Nicholas Hawkes became the first person to be jailed in England and Wales under the new law after sending an explicit photo of himself to a 15-year-old girl and another woman.

Hawkes was sentenced to more than a year in prison.