Around 5 percent of Kiwi adults threatened with revenge porn

A new report has revealed around five percent of adults have been victims of image-based sexual abuse online.

An online quiz from Netsafe uncovered a shocking number of people who fell victim to upskirting, sextortion or sharing intimate photos without permission.

Some victims were over the age of 70.

The posting of sexually explicit images without someone's permission, also known as revenge porn, was found to happen more often to people under 30 years old.

Netsafe chief executive Martin Cocker told Newshub people need to be careful about who they trust with private photos.

"Once they've produced it then they're at risk of somebody abusing it. If you are producing it you need to think about how it is that you will protect yourself later on"

Men and women were equally as likely to report having been affected by image based sexual abuse, although the kinds of experience differed.

Netsafe said in the report women were more likely to report suffering from revenge porn, while more men reported falling victim to sextortion scams.

"Males more often are drawn into scams where they're convinced to create content to be exploited," Mr Cocker told Newshub.

It is possible to take legal action for online abuse under the Harmful Digital Communications Act, but Mr Cocker said that can be cold comfort to victims.

"The reality is that for many people who are the victims of this kind of offence a prosecution of the offender isn't particularly going to undo the harm."

Newshub.