International Women's Day is a time to focus on the movements that support women across the globe. For this year, we’re launching our International Women’s Day 2026 campaign, focusing on how intimate image abuse predominantly affects women across the UK.
Every day, through the Revenge Porn Helpline and through SWGfL’s StopNCII.org initiative, we support individuals whose intimate images have been shared, threatened to be shared, or taken without consent. Time and again our work shows that women are disproportionately impacted, and the harm they experience reflects wider patterns of gender-based abuse.
Our data shows that 61% of women who have had their intimate images shared had them shared by a previous partner or someone they know. This demonstrates how intimate image abuse is usually perpetrated by a trusted person, often as a wider pattern of domestic abuse and coercive control.
Women are also significantly more likely to experience ongoing threats and harassment. 22% of women’s cases involve threats to share intimate images, where images are used as a tool of manipulation and control. A further 12% involve voyeurism, where images are taken without knowledge or consent, and 10% involve harassment.
Nearly half of women who contacted the Helpline had their images shared. For many, the harm goes far beyond the initial act of sharing. It can affect their safety and mental health and can escalate into further forms of abuse such as doxing, stalking, and harassment. This often leads to repeated distribution of the same images, as well as further harmful content being created such as synthetic sexual images and videos.
The contrast with men’s experiences is striking. Men report an average of 0.33 images shared per person, while women report an average of 10.1 images each. This difference highlights how disproportionately women are impacted by intimate image abuse. Behind every image is a person dealing with fear, ongoing abuse, and a profound loss of control.
This International Women’s Day, we would like you to get involved in the conversation. You can do this by downloading our themed resources, highlighting the impact of intimate image abuse and available support within your workplace, and creating a culture of collaboration to tackle a widespread issue.
Sophie Mortimer, Head of Support Services at SWGfL said the following:
“This year’s International Women’s Day provides a vital moment to focus on the needs of women across the globe. The theme this year highlights generosity and collaboration, and when it comes to addressing intimate image abuse, collaboration means coming together and having those difficult conversations that drive movements supporting women impacted by this devastating issue.
In the UK, intimate image abuse predominantly affects women, and we are using International Women’s Day to highlight the actions that can provide greater protection. Through the Revenge Porn Helpline and StopNCII.org, we understand that intimate image abuse can affect anyone. However, with recent progress in addressing violence against women and girls, this is a timely and important moment to continue pushing for change.
We must continue these conversations and build meaningful progress. Over the coming months, we will be sharing resources to support that work, while the Revenge Porn Helpline continues to provide support to every adult across the UK.”
If you’ve been affected by intimate image abuse, please get in touch with us. You can call us on 0345 6000 459 or email us at help@revengepornhelpline.org.uk. Help is out there and you are not alone.
