Sky News recently paid a visit to the SWGfL office to document the important work of our Helpline team. As part of a feature piece focusing on our Helpline, Sky News has released a documentary and articles that spotlight the team’s efforts to support those affected by intimate image abuse.
Offering an exclusive glimpse into the work of the Helpline Practitioners, the Sky News team gained access to our day-to-day work, and found out the latest figures the Helpline has on intimate image abuse cases.
Revenge Porn Helpline Documentary
As part of a 10-minute documentary, Sky News interviewed the Helpline team about their vital role as the first point of call for adults who have been impacted by intimate image abuse, exploring their job to report and support the removal of thousands of intimate images every year.
The documentary also looks at the Helpline’s role as trusted flaggers, enabling the team to quickly report cases of intimate image abuse to social media and adult sites, after developing extensive relationships with industry partners.
Rising cases of deepfakes and sextortion scams were also highlighted in the documentary, alongside how the Online Safety Act is expected to address the ever-changing nature of technology and crimes involving intimate image abuse.
The Sky News documentary is available to watch on YouTube or the Sky News website.
New Data Revealed
The Helpline also shared new statistics for part of 2023 with Sky News, demonstrating that there has been a significant increase in cases compared to 2022:
- 3,258 phone calls between January and September, an increase of 31%.
- 10,157 total reports between January and September, 13% above the total number of reports in 2022.
Professor Clare McGlynn, an expert in image-based sexual abuse, suggests that the rise in cases can be partly attributed to a rise in smartphone and internet usage since the COVID pandemic. Her reasoning correlates with data from the Revenge Porn Helpline, which saw a significant increase in cases during the pandemic.
Alongside this, she also suggests the presence of ‘non-consensual porn’ across adult websites is normalising ‘revenge porn’ to viewers.
Anyone interested in finding out more about our work in previous years can view a series of reports on our website.
Contact the Helpline
Our Helpline is able to support any adult living in the UK who has been affected by intimate image abuse.
We also offer a dedicated phoneline, email, and 24/7 anonymous reporting form to support anyone who may need support. Our Helpline is open Monday to Friday, 10am-4pm, and can be reached on 0345 6000 459.
Find out more about our Helpline
