By Zarisha Bradley

Produced for online by Elisabeth Moss

One in five Australians have fallen victim to “image-based abuse”, commonly known as revenge porn, a joint study by Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and Monash University has found.

The research showed women are more likely than men to experience the abuse, which includes having  sexual or nude images taken without consent.

A 20-year-old University student, who asked to to be named , says an ex-partner shared sexual images of her.

“I was dating for two years so there was like that natural trust that comes with that,” she says.

“There were a few photos sent in the relationship, but it when it went bad… he just uploaded them to Instagram and to Facebook just to humiliate me.”

She says the experience was horrible.

“I was really anxious about it all and what people would think of me…what would be the consequences for me?” she says.

RMIT socio-legal scholar Dr Nicola Henry says serious consequences can result for the victim.

“Experiences like fear and anxiety, psychological distress but also suicidal thoughts,” she says.

She says there should be a greater push to criminalise revenge porn.

“We really need the Federal Government to lead the way, to set the tone and to introduce legislation,” she says.

New South Wales Attorney General Mark Speakmen recently introduced a bill to combat the rise in image-based abuse.

If passed, an $11,000 fine may apply as well as a maximum three-year jail sentence.

QUT’s Media and Communications lecturer Jason Sternberg says legislation is not the only solution.

“Changes in the law are only one thing,” he says.

“We need to educate not only young people but also their parents.”

He says people should not be posting material that they do not want exploited in the first place.

Dr Henry disagrees, saying this is a form of “victim blaming”.

“What we should be doing is looking at the perpetrator and at bystanders.

“This is an issue of consent and an issue of respect,” Dr Henry says.