Rise in 'sextortion' cases reported to crime helpline

Vivienne Clarke

The chief executive officer of the Crime Victims Helpline, Michelle Puckhaber, has spoken of the continuing rise in cases of ‘sextortion’.

“It's something that we didn't hear about three years ago, it wasn't even in our stats. And now it's maybe the third or fourth most common reason people are ringing the Crime Victims Helpline,” she told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.

“It's even been such an increase that it's changed our demographics of who's ringing us, because sextortion really impacts young men for the most part. And we've seen a huge increase in the number of young men who are contacting us for information and support.”

Ms Puckhaber said that the people contacting the helpline were experiencing “extreme panic, embarrassment, fear, and just complete overwhelm with what could happen".

The advice from Crime Victims Helpline and the gardaí was not to respond to any demand for payment as this could lead to further demands. It is a crime to threaten to share intimate photos, she said.

“Most people who are victims of crime have never encountered the criminal justice system before. It's all new to them. So they don't really know what to expect or what's going to happen. So we will guide people through what they can expect. We tell people about their rights as victims of crime. We let them know about compensation.

"And then the third, kind of strand of things that we do is we signpost to other victim support services. So Ireland has a lot of really excellent victim support services, across the country. So we help people find those, whether it's a specialty service for domestic violence or sexual assault. Or it's just a local service in terms of court accompaniment.”