Unsolicited Sexting and Help-Seeking Behaviours among Australian Adults: A Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract

Sending unsolicited sexts is increasingly recognised as harmful and, in some countries, constitutes a criminal offence. Recipients of unwanted/unexpected sexts often report compromised mental health, yet it is currently unknown how people deal with these sexting experiences. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study explored help-seeking behaviours following the receipt of unwanted sexts and barriers to reaching out for support in Australia, where the law currently does not recognise unsolicited sexting as a criminal offence. In total, 883 participants, Mage = 22.52 years (SD = 3.09), were recruited comprising 539 (61.2%) women, 325 (36.9%) men, and 17 (1.9%) other/non-binary. Overall, women were more likely to receive unsolicited sexts (389, 81%) than men (66, 26.2%), and ≥97.7% of respondents across genders never sought support in response to these experiences. Template thematic analysis revealed the receipt of unwanted sexts was often regarded “too trivial” to seek support for, which was captured under the theme of it’s just an image. Regarding barriers to help-seeking, three themes were generated: it’s an awkward experience to talk about, I did not realise it was a violation, I didn’t know where to go. Young Australian adults often did not seek support due to feelings of awkwardness and shame associated with receiving unwanted sexts, a lack of understanding of the violating nature of these experiences and young age, and minimal knowledge of supports. This study illustrates that community attitudes and the legal framework in Australia towards unsolicited sexting need to change to recognise this sexting variant as harmful and illegal.

Keywords

• sexting
• online sexual harassment
• technology-facilitated abuse
• young adults
• help-seeking
• qualitative study