Durban — Sex sells and globally criminals are capitalising on the vulnerability of youngsters, leading to an increase in sextortion and revenge porn.
Experts say social media usage in South Africa is extremely high and criminals are targeting teenagers and young adults, leading to severe mental health challenges or even suicide.
Over the past few years an increasing number of children and young people have been subjected to some form of cyberbullying or sextortion and, while criminals target all genders and age groups, teenage boys between 14 and 18 are prime targets for sextortion.
Childline KZN director Adeshini Naicker said all types of bullying could lead to intense emotional distress and feelings of shame and helplessness contributing to anxiety and depression.
“Victims often experience social isolation, low self-esteem and may develop psychological issues like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The relentless harassment can lead to thoughts of self-harm or suicide as individuals feel trapped and see no way out.”
Naicker said the psychological scars could persist, affecting relationships and overall well-being, even after the bullying had stopped.
“It’s crucial to provide support and intervention to victims, including counselling, to help them cope and recover from the trauma,” said Naicker.
According to the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag), which receives more than 2 500 calls a day, there are 23 suicides a day and 230 serious attempts at suicide daily in South Africa.
“An alarming one in four calls we receive are suicide related,” it says on its website.
Anna Collard, SVP Content Strategy and Evangelist at KnowBe4 AFRICA, an organisation that raises awareness about sextortion, described it as a “sinister tactic” that coerced victims into sharing explicit images or videos by preying on their vulnerabilities and exploiting their trust.
“The perpetrators often masquerade as peers or love interests online, only to turn around and threaten to release the compromising material unless the victim complies with their demands for more images, sexual acts or monetary payments,” said Collard.
She said another organisation that dealt with sextortion and other related issues, the Internet Watch Foundation, had received more reports involving sextortion in the first six months of 2023 than the entire previous year – an increase of 257%.
Sheldon Reid of HelpGuide.org said being the target of revenge pornography and online abuse could leave a victim feeling violated and powerless.
“Revenge porn involves the unauthorised distribution of intimate images, videos, or even sext messages – sexually explicit text messages. The term ‘revenge porn’ is misleading because it implies the target had done something to deserve this treatment or the perpetrator is motivated by vengeance. In most cases, ‘nonconsensual pornography’ or ‘image-based sexual abuse’ are more accurate terms,” Reid said.
Collard said criminals who engaged in sextortion were always motivated by a desire to solicit money from their victims.
“While the modus operandi of sextortion criminals involves the exchange of sexual images, their ultimate aim is money. Financially motivated sexual extortion is usually carried out by organised crime groups who are 100% motivated by money.”
Experts argue that money is not always the incentive, but involves public humiliation and other factors.
“The unlawful distribution of intimate private sexual photographs or videos online is a relatively new and highly disturbing phenomenon. Every week the media covers shocking cases where images or videos which have often been shared between consenting individuals are subsequently published vindictively to embarrass or shame people,” said UK-based Simon Burn Solicitors.
Locally, two well-known ANC officials – former minister Malusi Gigaba and Free State leader Zanele Sifuba – were publicly humiliated after sex-related videos and pictures of them were leaked on social media
Sifuba was allegedly “punished” for refusing to pay an ex-boyfriend R300 000. In 2018, pictures of former home affairs minister Gigaba went public after his cellphone was hacked.
Independent on Saturday