Right-wing authoritarianism, empathy, and judgements of non-consensual distribution of intimate image (NCDII) victims

Although reports of non-consensual distribution of another person’s intimate images (NCDII) are on the rise, there remains a lack of understanding of its harmful impacts to victims. Nonetheless, extant findings indicate that individual differences may be important contributors to attitudes towards NCDII victims. For instance, Dark Triad personality traits are associated with negative judgements of NCDII victims, and Right-Wing Authoritarianism has been associated with victimblaming and minimization of harm towards physical sexual abuse victims. This research therefore sought to investigate the relationship between Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and judgements of NCDII victims, and whether it is moderated by affective and cognitive empathy. Adults (n = 134) from the general population, recruited online from within the UK, completed self-report questionnaires measuring empathy, RWA, and beliefs about NCDII. Results of linear regression and moderation analyses showed that higher levels of RWA predict more negative judgements of NCDII victims, but cognitive and affective empathy did not significantly moderate this relationship. These findings highlight the importance of considering ideological beliefs in addressing NCDII and suggest that efforts to combat victim-blaming should account for authoritarian attitudes.