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Violence against women takes on the form of a bonding ritual amongst groups of men who put what they have viewed in pornography into practice.

Guest post by Dr Em

Originally published at Uncommon Ground Media

A court has heard how Footballer Mike Emery raped a sleeping woman twice in one night and sent naked photos of her to his teammates asking them: “Anyone want a go?” Emery sent these photos of his alleged rape victim with a laughing emoji ‘to two WhatsApp group chats, comprising 70’ men. They did not go to the police, or call for help, instead, one man responded 'Show us her gash', to which ‘Emery allegedly sent a photograph showing the woman's vaginal area’. Emery’s victim only found out about the intimate photos of her he had shared with all of these men after Warrington Rylands club chairman Mark Pye informed her. A jury found Emery not guilty, because, one presumes, this is seemingly normal behaviour. Indeed, it is happening frequently. A different footballer and a different rape made the headlines again in 2024 as the former Man City and Real Madrid player Robinho was ordered to be jailed in his home country after he was found guilty of taking part in the gang rape of an Albanian woman celebrating her 23rd birthday at a Milan nightclub. A court in Milan had stated that Robinho had acted with "special contempt for the victim, who was brutally humiliated”.

OnlyFans, a subscriber-only social media platform that allows people to sell pornographic content of themselves, is portrayed as a great way for young women to make money, and a better, safer option than traditional prostitution. Some of the dominant media narratives in support of OnlyFans frame it as an ethical alternative to mainstream porn sites, as the means for sellers to have more control over the content they produce, and even as a confidence-building endeavour for women (see our report Side Hustles and Sexual Exploitation). 

We’ve previously exposed how OnlyFans puts women and risk and leaves them vulnerable to exploitation. An increasing number of young female content creators report degrading and violent requests, abusive and predatory treatment, as well as doxxing, image-based abuse and stalking. We also published an account from former OnlyFans recruiter Victoria revealing how women were exploited and degraded on the platform. 

But it’s even worse. A growing number of reports expose OnlyFans hosting – and profiting from – illegal and abusive content, including videos of children, rape and non-consensually produced or shared material.

It’s no secret that mainstream porn is dominated by male violence and aggression against women. A report by the French equality watchdog last year found that as much as 90% of porn features verbal, physical and sexual violence towards women, and a significant amount constituted torture. 

As porn has become more mainstream, its messages – that violence against women is sexy, and women desire and enjoy violence and abuse – have seeped into mainstream popular culture. Strangulation or ‘sexual choking’*, an act of violence that has been popularised in porn, has become so normalised it is referenced and promoted in advertising, TV, social media, popular songs and on clothing – even for babies.

We’ve previously spoken out about the risks of AI to women and girls, including ‘deepfake’ and ‘deepnude’ apps that allow users to digitally manipulate images and videos and create pornographic and degrading images of them. 

As these technologies are exploding in popularity, and users can create highly realistic content, women and girls are overwhelmingly at risk of being victimised – as we’ve seen with the creation of pornographic images of Taylor Swift circulated last week. 

"Increasing prominence and accessibility of these services will very likely lead to further instances of online harm, such as the creation and dissemination of non-consensual nude images, targeted harassment campaigns, sextortion, and the generation of child sexual abuse material."

New research has found Deepnude apps are exploding in popularity, with undressing websites attracting 24 million unique visitors in September 2023.   

Deepnude apps allow users to virtually undress a woman, using AI to manipulate an image or video of a woman to remove her clothing. Many apps only work on women.

Adolescents are now the most common perpetrators of child sexual abuse, according to new Australian research published in the International Journal of Child Abuse and Neglect.

"Even with all my experience, all my knowledge, all my protective measures and the amazing relationship I have with my daughter, I was still unable to stop her from being exposed to pornography at a too young age."

The following account was shared with us by a parent via our Kids Exposed page.