Sexual harassment is on the rise across the country, affecting teenagers and young adults

Sexual harassment — threats to share a nude or revealing image of someone — is on the rise across the country, with law enforcement agencies reporting an increase in incidents targeting teenagers and young adults via social media and messaging apps.

Between October 2021 and March 2023, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and National Security received more than 13,000 reports financial sexual exploitation of minors, involving at least 12,600 victims, 20 suicides and a 20 percent increase in cases between October 2022 and March 2023 compared to the previous year.

However, people of any age can become victims.

Johnson County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Kristen Silver said sexual assault cases reported in Johnson County tend to be committed by unknown strangers who are talking on social media or messaging apps.

“The unknown person they are messaging convinces them to send nude photos and then demands that they send more money or photos to avoid sharing those photos with their family, friends or social media,” Silver said.

Silver also noted that this crime is likely more common than reported.

“It’s likely more common than reported because victims face barriers such as embarrassment, fear of getting in trouble or guilt,” Silver said.

University of Iowa campus safety public information officer Gailey Bruce said that as of 2023, the Department of Education will classify sexual harassment as harassment.

“It continues to affect our data,” Bruce said.

In 2022, Campus Safety reported a total of 100 incidents of harassment, eight of which were attributed to sexual harassment. In 2023, 113 cases of harassment were registered, including six cases of sexual extortion.

On the UI campus, Bruce said this crime often begins when a student thinks they’re talking to someone their age interested in a relationship; the criminal creates trust, convinces them to share photos or videos, and then threatens to share the content with their friends.

Silver said the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office recommends that people avoid sending money or any electronic payments to these individuals because it rarely stops the threats and often leads to more demands.

Instead, they advise you to stop communicating, block your online profile, and report threats to the platform from which they originated, as well as to law enforcement.

Bruce added that Campus Safety encourages people to collect evidence such as screenshots, the offender’s username and platform, as well as any other information in addition to terminating the contact.

“The most important thing about this type of crime is that they actually report what’s going on,” Bruce said. “We understand it can be embarrassing to talk about, but we really want students to report it so we can help them stop it.”

Bruce also encouraged students who have been sexually harassed to prioritize their mental health and use support resources.

As for campus resources that support victims, the former UI Rape Victim Advocacy Program, also known as RVAP, announced last April that it was closing and services were moving to the nonprofit Iowa City Domestic Violence Intervention Program, also known as DVIP. DVIP officially took over on October 1.

Alta Medea, director of community engagement for DVIP, said the organization provides various types of support to victims of sexual exploitation.

“Each case is different. What an individual needs is different,” Medea said. “Of course, it’s very personal.”

In cases where a victim decides to report an incident to law enforcement, Medea says DVIP provides support by accompanying them to meetings with officers, attorneys and the district attorney’s office, helping them piece together their experiences and guiding them through the legal process as it unfolds .

Medea emphasized that, in addition to the offender being a stranger to the victim, sexual extortion can occur in the context of intimate partner violence.

“That element of pressure is a very good thing,” Medea said, also noting that a perpetrator can use intense displays of affection and attention — known as love bombing — to manipulate a victim.

Medea encouraged survivors of sexual assault to contact the DVIP hotline at 800-373-1043. She also noted that DVIP is open on campus at the Women’s Resource and Action Center from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM on Mondays and Thursdays.

“Of course, getting expert help and navigating your security paths and your process is really vital for the next steps,” Medea said.