Cyberflashing is a form of gender-based sexual violence that must be taken seriously

Sexting – sending sexually suggestive or explicit messages and images – is a common practice today and can be a healthy way to express and explore sexuality. However, a distinction must be made between consensual sexting and forms of sexual harassment such as cyberflashing.

Cyberflashing is the act of sending non-consensual sexual images (such as nude photos or “dick pics”) to another person. This is facilitated through communication technologies such as text messaging, AirDrop, and social media applications such as Snapchat and Tinder.

Much like flashing – when a person unexpectedly and intentionally “shows” their genitals to others – that happens in person, cyberflashing is an intrusive denial of autonomy and control. It can leave people feeling anxious, objectified and unsafe.

And like flashing, which requires physical proximity to the person, cyberflashing can be done through location-specific technologies like Apple’s AirDrop. A cyberflasher can also access more information about the recipient online, including their name and location.

Cyberflashing is often normalized and seen as something to laugh about, but it is a form of gender-based sexual violence that must be taken seriously.

My research on technology-enabled gender-based violence, including non-consensual sexual deepfakes, underscores the need for legal and societal responses to these new challenges.

Gender-specific goals

In 2018, Statistics Canada found that 11 percent of women and 6 percent of men aged 15 or older received unwanted sexually suggestive or explicit images or messages. Among young people aged 15 to 24, this figure rose to 25 percent of women and 10 percent of men.

Studies on cyberflashing from the US and UK suggest a higher rate of cyberflashing, with women still being the most affected.

While no further intersectional data on explicit images is available, women with disabilities, Indigenous women, and bisexual women in general are common victims of online harassment.

Cyberflashing can also occur alongside other forms of violence, including stalking, sexual harassment, and physical threats.

Harmful effects

The impact of cyberflashing is amplified by contextual factors. In one case, a fire inspector in London, Ontario, sent explicit photos to women he worked with. Another factor is location: for example, women in Montreal received sexually explicit images while riding the metro, while British students were subjected to cyberflashing during university lectures.

A study of 2,045 women and 298 gay or bisexual men in the United States found that women reported cyberflashing as a predominantly negative experience, leaving them feeling disgusted, disrespected and hurt.

The same study found that while gay and bisexual men were frequently victims of cyberflashing, they had more positive reactions. This shows how gender and sexual orientation can influence experiences of violence. It is important to view this finding in the context of unequal gender dynamics, societal expectations that men should value sexual advances, and a broader culture that minimizes cases of sexual violence against men who have sex with men.

The result of cyberflashing is that women must perform “safety work,” including restricting or modifying their freedom of movement and communication. This emotional and physical work is time-consuming and can limit women’s participation in everyday life.

Rape culture

Cyberflashing reflects and reinforces rape culture, which normalizes sexual violence and views consent as unnecessary. Cyberflashing assumes that the unsolicited sexual content will be received positively despite the lack of consent.

When heterosexual men were asked what reaction they hoped for from the recipient when cyberflashing, the majority answered that they hoped for positive reactions such as sexual arousal and attraction. However, a significant minority of men hoped for negative reactions such as shock, disgust and fear.

This common misconception among heterosexual men that cyberflashing will elicit a positive response may be due to their upbringing to be sexually aggressive.

Beyond individual cyberflashing, rape culture in society at large leads to the trivialization of sexual violence and victim blaming, reflected in the recommendation to simply ignore unwanted images and the false assumption that the person must have “asked” to be flashed.

On the way to approval

Canada can combat cyberflashing by criminalizing it, a method already practiced in England, Wales, Scotland and Singapore.

Criminalizing cyberflashing serves as a deterrent by making it an illegal act with potential consequences. Currently in Canada, only those who send sexual content to minors under the age of 18 can be prosecuted under child luring laws if it is done with the intent to commit a crime such as sexual exploitation, human trafficking and public exposure.

However, criminalization is limited due to a lack of reporting on cyberflashing. Survivors of sexual violence may also distrust the criminal justice system because of how harmful it treats them, particularly survivors who face structural oppression such as anti-Black racism and disability discrimination.

A promising alternative to criminalization is transformative justice, an approach to addressing harm that focuses on healing, community responsibility and societal change.

Another aspect of ending cyberflashing requires the involvement of social media platforms, which can use technology, including artificial intelligence, to detect sexual content and block it unless the user accepts it. This approach is used by Bumble’s Private Detector and Instagram’s Nudity Protection.

Finally, there is a need for sex-positive education about sex and technical safety that distinguishes sexting from sexual harassment such as cyberflashing. Instead of stigmatizing sexting in general, age-appropriate practices should be promoted on how to talk about sex in a meaningful and consensual way.