Men sending pictures of their genitals is a common form of sexual harassment. A new study carried out in several Nordic countries sheds light on the driving forces behind it: Some want compliments on their penis, others wish to "punish" women and many hope to get laid.
In a new and comprehensive research report compiled by the organization Nordic Digital Rights and Equality Foundation (NORDREF), researchers have investigated why men send unwanted pictures of their genitals, so-called "dick pics". The aim of the study is to prevent such pictures from being sent to people who don't want them, because unsolicited nude pictures are illegal and classified as sexual harassment, which can result in fines or imprisonment for a maximum of two years according to the police.
The study showed that men's reasons for sending dick-pics vary, but also that the majority of the senders were unknown to the recipient. And often times, the images or videos with sexual content appear completely without warning in a casual chat conversation.
Many who sent the pictures hoped to get nude pictures back, others hoped that the recipient would want to have sex with them. Some men were so proud of their penis that they wanted others to share it, while others hoped to receive compliments on their genitalia. The picture was also a way of saying that they were interested in the recipient. So as a way of flirting.
NORDREF conducted the study in Sweden, Denmark and Iceland, and it is based primarily on reviews of court documents from all three countries.
Sending dick-pics to women as punishment
The organization's chairman, Thordis Elva, says that many men in Iceland justified their sending by saying that they were "just flirting". Sometimes, women are dehumanized by men who send pictures to 20-30 women, hoping to get a favorable reaction from a couple of them.
- It's like a form of spamming where they don't care how these pictures are received by the other 90 percent of women who don't react. The men don't sit and think about the psychological impact it has on the women who receive them. They think purely selfishly that someone might send a picture back, and how sexy that would be, says Thordis Elva.
But there were even more reasons why dick pics were sent, such as a misinterpretation of the recipient's signals, and that some men find it arousing to send pictures of their penis. Others thought it was fun, and some thought it gave them a sense of control over the person they sent the picture to.
Most Swedish men sent pictures to "test the friendship", namely to see if they could take their friendship with a female acquaintance to a romantic or sexual level. For Thordis Elva, it indicates that they lack the ability to approach women romantically and sexually without it becoming a criminal act. In her opinion, if you want to get close to a woman, you have to talk to her with respect, and learn to flirt in a good way.
Six percent of men stated that they sent dick pics with the aim of "punishing" women or asserting their masculinity. One reason was that the men did not like feminism, and that the images were therefore a way of punishing women for trying to take power away from them.
What do you think about so many men texting women they don't know?
- Men have different reasons for behaving like this, but we have seen a shift in norms on the internet. We have a lot of porn and porn-damaged men and boys whose view of how to communicate their sexuality has become twisted. Because these same men understand that you don't pull your pants down at your local supermarket, so this change in norms has not happened in other parts of society, says Thordis Elva.
The study will form the foundation for preventive measures, mainly aimed at men under 30, as they are overrepresented amongst perpetrators who commit digital abuse against women they have been romantically involved with, or are interested in.
The police: Here is What You Should Do If You Get an Unwanted Dick Pic
If you get an unwanted picture of someone's penis, you should always report it to the police, says Johanna Lopez, group leader at the Regional IT Crime Center West. And they have a good chance of identifying who is behind the account from which the picture was sent.
- If someone send dick pics to one person, they've probably sent them to more people. Even if your police report isn't successful, we might have success by the third report because then there is additional information that we can connect to the same suspect. If we can link a suspect to a criminal act, there are good chances for a conviction.
When reporting, documentation is important for the police. Johanna Lopez says that you should document as much as possible. Take screenshots of everything, even of any conversation you had before you were sent the pictures. You must also note which forum you are in and the sender's username. Include all information you have on the suspect.
If the sender is completely unknown, the username is also important, but not the display name, because you can change that yourself, making it of no use to the police.
Her advice is: Do not reply, block the sender and document everything for a police report.
Commentaires