Help-Seeking for Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence: Insights from Canadian Young Adults Across Three Forms of Harm

Technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) encompasses a range of harmful digital sexual behaviors, each with unique characteristics and potential impacts on victim-survivors, as well as varying responses from support systems. To address this growing issue, it is necessary to understand the help-seeking behaviors of those affected by the different types of TFSV and the unique barriers they encounter. This study draws on interview (n = 17) and survey (n = 468) data from adults in Canada to compare the help-seeking behaviors and barriers across image-based sexual abuse, image-based sexual harassment, and sexual-, gender-, and sexuality-based harassment. Qualitative findings suggested that victim-survivors experience similar barriers to help-seeking regardless of their victimization experience. Quantitative findings similarly indicated the presence of shared barriers across all forms of TFSV; however, variations in the extent to which these barriers discouraged help-seeking were observed. Victim-survivors of image-based sexual abuse reported heightened negative attitudes toward help-seeking and stigma as barriers, whereas minimization-related barriers were more prevalent among those who experienced image-based sexual harassment. Overall, findings underscore the need for outreach initiatives that legitimize all forms of TFSV and highlight the supportive services available for victim-survivors across these different experiences.