The growing threat of AI-generated sexual abuse: why we need stronger protections now

Earlier this year, it was deeply disturbing to learn that large numbers of people were using Grok, the AI tool integrated into X (formerly Twitter), to create and share sexualised images of women and children. The ease with which these images could be generated and distributed highlights a growing and urgent problem – technology is being weaponised to facilitate abuse.

This is not harmless content creation. It is abuse, and it causes real harm to real people. Social media platforms that enable or fail to adequately prevent this abuse must be held accountable.

For too long, we have allowed social media companies to regulate themselves. Time and again, they have demonstrated that the safety of women and children is not their priority. Decisions about platform design, moderation, and AI tools continue to create opportunities for abuse while leaving victims to deal with the consequences.

That is why Jess Asato MP’s campaign is so important. If successful, it could strengthen legal protections for women and children, close gaps in existing legislation, and help survivors access meaningful justice and accountability from those responsible for harming them.

At SARSAS, we deliver training on tech-facilitated sexual abuse and have seen a significant increase in awareness and public discussion around this issue in recent years, particularly image-based abuse. The growing accessibility of AI tools and the public nature of online platforms have made these forms of abuse more visible than ever before.

However, it is important to recognise that tech-facilitated abuse is not a new phenomenon.

Through our work supporting victim-survivors, we have repeatedly seen perpetrators use the sharing (or threat of sharing) sexual images as a tool of coercive control. These tactics are used to intimidate, manipulate, and silence victims.

The rise of AI-generated sexual imagery does not create a new form of abuse so much as it amplifies existing patterns of violence and control. By making the creation of fake sexual images quicker, easier, and more accessible, tools such as Grok risk exacerbating the abuse already experienced by women and children. LGBTQIA+ people and people from Black and minoritised communities, who already face disproportionately high levels of online abuse, are also at increased risk of being targeted.

We cannot afford to treat this as an inevitable consequence of technological progress. Stronger laws, greater accountability for platforms, and better support for survivors are essential if we are to tackle this growing threat effectively.

We encourage everyone to support Jess Asato MP’s campaign by signing her petition and helping to raise awareness of this issue.

If you have experienced image-based abuse, support is available. Services such as the Revenge Porn Helpline (for adults), Report Remove (for under-18s).

If you have been affected by any kind of online or tech-facilitated sexual abuse, contact our helpline and online (live chat and email) services for emotional support.

No one should face this abuse alone.