The Sexual Violence Prevention Association (SVPA), along with 37 supporting organizations, is urging the Department of Education to issue new guidance for Title IX coordinators in schools regarding digital sexual harassment. Digital sexual harassment includes nonconsensual deepfake pornography, revenge pornography, intimate image abuse, and other forms of technology-facilitated sexual violence. The SVPA detailed the need for such guidance in a letter to the department.
The new Title IX rule goes into effect August 1st, 2024. In it, nonconsensual deepfake pornography is addressed. This rule, combined with existing regulations, makes it clear that Title IX covers digital sexual harassment. The SVPA commends the Department of Education for taking this action. However, as students across the country prepare to head back to school, an overwhelming majority of administrators at K-12 schools, colleges, and universities are unsure how to identify, address, and prevent digital sexual harassment.
“Social media use is everywhere, and it’s causing digital sexual harassment to skyrocket. Our schools urgently need clear guidance to effectively support victims and combat this issue. Without action, we risk normalizing these behaviors at the expense of girls and young women’s education and well-being,” said Gloria L. Blackwell, Chief Executive Officer of the American Association of University Women.
As stated in the letter to the Department of Education, digital sexual harassment, including nonconsensual deepfake pornography, is a serious issue impacting people of all ages, including our youth. As of 2023, more than 98% of deepfakes on the internet were pornographic. There were more than 500,000 deepfakes shared online in the past year and the number of deepfakes online is doubling every six months. In 2021, more than 29 million instances of suspected child sexual exploitation were reported. There have been cases of nonconsensual artificially generated explicit materials being made and distributed in K-12 schools across the country, including Washington, New Jersey, Florida, and Iowa. In Beverly Hills, CA, five middle school students created and shared nonconsensual AI-generated explicit content of 16 classmates.
The 37 undersigned organizations from across the country have joined our cause, including Advocates for Youth, the American Association of University Women (AAUW), the National Organization for Women (NOW), and the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC).
“As young people increasingly use digital tools and platforms, it is all the more critical that schools are equipped to address digital sexual harassment,” said Elizabeth Tang, Senior Counsel for Education and Workplace Justice at NWLC. “NWLC commends the Department of Education on affirming that Title IX prohibits the nonconsensual distribution of intimate images, including those that are AI-generated, and we urge the Department to issue guidance to schools on how to recognize, respond to, and prevent this and other forms of digital sexual harassment.”
Omny Miranda Martone, Founder and CEO of the Sexual Violence Prevention Association (SVPA), reiterates the need for this guidance: “As a victim of nonconsensual deepfake pornography myself, I urge the Department of Education to take action and issue comprehensive, trauma-informed guidance for Title IX coordinators. This guidance will support victims and strengthen the prevention of digital sexual harassment at K-12 schools and colleges across the country.”
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About the SVPA
The Sexual Violence Prevention Association (SVPA) is a national nonprofit dedicated to preventing sexual violence systemically. You can learn more about our organization on our website or in our impact report.
Joined by
- Advocates for Youth
- American Association of University Women (AAUW)
- Arkansas Coalition Against Sexual Assault (ACASA)
- C.A. Goldberg, PLLC
- Day One
- End Rape On Campus (EROC)
- Equal Rights Advocates (ERA)
- Equality Now
- Eyes Open International
- GLSEN
- Greater Boston PFLAG
- Greater Cleveland Collaborative to End Human Trafficking
- Harriet Tubman Movement
- Healthy Teen Network
- Jane Doe Inc.
- Justice and Joy National Collaborative, formerly National Crittenton
- Know Your IX, a project of Advocates for Youth
- love is respect, a project of the National Domestic Violence Hotline
- Mass NOW
- Massachusetts Commission on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning Youth
- me too. International
- My Image My Choice
- #NãoPartilhes
- National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE)
- National Organization for Women (NOW)
- National Organization of API Ending Sexual Violence (NAPIESV)
- National Women’s Law Center (NWLC)
- Network for Victim Recovery of DC (NVRDC)
- Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN)
- Reclaim Coalition
- SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change
- Stop It Now!
- Stop Sexual Assault in Schools (SSAIS)
- UltraViolet
- Union for Reform Judaism
- Women of Reform Judaism
- Womens Digital Defender Latam
