{"id":887,"date":"2025-01-22T19:57:15","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T19:57:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/survivors.org\/?p=887"},"modified":"2025-04-17T11:06:16","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T18:06:16","slug":"digital-consent-sending-nudes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/survivors.org\/digital-consent-sending-nudes\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital Consent: Sending Nudes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An incredibly common way to express one\u2019s sexuality online is by exchanging nude, semi-nude, or suggestive images of oneself, sometimes referred to as sexting or sending nudes. Research suggests that nearly 88% of U.S. adults have sent nudes at some point in their lifetime.1 <\/sup>Sending, receiving, and viewing nude images is as much of a sexual act as those involving physical contact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consent matters online<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Consent is just as important online as it is in person. You need consent before sending someone sexual photos, videos, or messages. You need consent before sending someone else\u2019s sexual photos, videos, or messages to another person. Our bodies are still our bodies even if they\u2019re appearing on a screen. We respect others’ right to bodily autonomy by letting them choose who interacts with their body and how.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is an unfair, added shame and stigma around digital sexual abuse. When bad things happen to us online, the response is often some sentiment that tries to convince us that what happens online isn\u2019t \u201creal-life.\u201d  In reality, the average person in the U.S. spends six hours and forty-minutes online daily<\/em>.2<\/sup> What we do online is real. When we spend money online\u2013 our money is actually taken from our bank account. When we order a ride from a rideshare app\u2013 a car actually shows up. With every passing day, our lives become more and more digital, there is nothing unreal about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consensually exchanging nudes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Before sending a nude photo or video, ask the person if they\u2019d like to receive the image. Sending a nude to anyone unsolicitedly, even if it is not a photo of yourself and even if your intent in sending the photo was not<\/em> to cause sexual arousal, is a form of sexual violence. Just as it is sexually violent to expose oneself in front of others non-consensually in-person, it is sexually violent to do so online. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You should not request a nude photo from someone you do not know or do not have an intimate relationship with already, as it is sexual harassment. <\/strong>While an existing intimate relationship does not mean they owe you a nude photo, asking someone who you do not know for something so intimate is inappropriate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you would like to exchange nude image with someone else, you can ask them politely in a variety of ways, such as: <\/p>\n\n\n\n