We are researchers working on campus sexual misconduct and technology facilitated sexual violence.
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ALT It's 2026 — why are brands still objectifying women to sell e-bikes, air-conditioners and more? Dr. Michelle Ho and the CASMIDA team trace the link between sexualized ads and sexual harms. Central graphic is a collage featuring a cut out of a woman in a satin gown grabbing her breast to keep the fabric up. She is sticking out of a TV and a magnifying glass hovers over her waist. Black and white cut-out images of eyes surround the woman and TV. Below the woman is a dictionary clipping of the term "objectification"
ALT Excerpt from the article: BEYOND THE CAMPAIGN — INTO EVERYDAY LIFE Dr Michelle Ho said: “Even though it is 2026, not 1996, sexual objectification continues to exist simply because gender inequality remains present in our society.”
ALT Her team’s concern isn’t limited to advertising. Women disproportionately make up the victim-survivors of online sexual harms, she noted. “It’s a pattern deeply rooted in the same entrenched gender norms of imagery that sexualises, objectifies and dehumanises women.” Exposure plays a role too. Regularly consuming objectifying imagery makes it easier to normalise other forms of violation, including non-consensual content, she explained. “Indeed, this is a vicious cycle.”
ALT Find out more about our project! CASMIDA: www.casmidaproject.wordpress.com OSHSG: www.oshsg.com
ALT Dr Michelle Ho at a podium with a microphone. Image captioned "Thank you to all who attended and engaged with our presentation at #ICA26 International Communication Association (ICA) Annual Conference!"
ALT Dr Michelle Ho in front of a presentation slide titled "'It's Becoming More Common Online:' Technology-Facilitated Sexual violence in Singapore" Image is captioned: What impact do digital technologies have on sexual violence in Singapore? We addressed this primary question in our presentation. Drawing on surveys and interviews conducted with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) students, we shared their experiences of online sexual harms. Besides the prevalence of such harms, as expressed by one participant that sexual violence is "becoming more common online," we explored what research and awareness gaps remain.
ALT Dr Michelle Ho in front of a presentation slide that reads "Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence (TFSV): a range of behaviors using or aided by various digital technologies to harm, offend, humiliate, or intimidate individuals" Caption reads: During the Q&A we discussed a multitude of issues concerning ethics (e.g. feminist ethics of care), mandatory reporting of known crimes, research on perpetrator behaviors, and terminologies used to name technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) instead of other terms (e.g. online sexual harms in Singapore), as well as how these practices might vary across different national and sociocultural contexts.
ALT Find out more about our project! CASMIDA: casmidaproject.wordpress.com OSHSG: oshsg.com
ALT CASMIDA: Event Recap Purple background with some orange, swirly patterning at the border. Center image of two people around a banner that reads "UNESCO Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms Capacity Building Workshops for Southeast Asia Regulators and Civil Societies (Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore)"
ALT Top of the page features a large group of people standing professionally in a presentation area. An arrow points to a woman dressed in a blazer in the front row and identifies, "Wi En Ng represented the CASMIDA team" Bottom half of the page includes text: "CASMIDA was in Semarang, Indonesia for UNESCO Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms: Capacity Building Workshops for Southeast Asia Regulators, Digital Platforms, and Civil Society hosted by Universitas Diponegoro."
ALT Top of the page reads: "Our session focused on multi-stakeholder engagement with civil society organizations across Southeast Asia, addressing how these collaborations can support the development of a regional toolkit." The text is interrupted by an image of presentation slides titled "Campus Sexual Misconduct in a Digital Age (CASMIDA)" to the right of the slides in Wi En Ng presenting. Bottom of the page continues, "Participants practiced stakeholder mapping to identify communities impacted by online sexual harms and ideate one-year action items with risk-benefit analysis."
ALT "Thank you to The CivicTech Lab for inviting us, UNESCO, Universitas Diponegoro, and all involved in creating space for important conversations." Centered image in an outdoor environment. Left to Right: Wi En Ng with Nigel Teo from SHE and Professor Weiyu Zhang of The CivicTech Lab from NUS. "We hope to see continued collaboration across Southeast Asia to support digital platform governance, online safety, and accountability."
ALT A banner reads "Revisit: Dr Michelle Ho on the #UNFILTERED podcast with Minister Josephine Teo" Over a purple background with concentric white dots fading to the periphery, a pair of hands hold an ipad displaying a Youtube thumbnail for the podcast. The thumbnail features a blue background with red and white text that reads "#Unfiltered: Real Victim Stories" "Episode 1: Deepfakes" as well as two square images side-by-side. The left image depicts Dr Michelle Ho and the right image depicts Minister Josephine Teo. They appear to be looking towards each other. The bottom of the page features a blurb: "available on MDDI Singapore's YouTube channel"
ALT Over a purple background with concentric white dots fading to the periphery, a hand holds a phone displaying a still from the podcast. In the image Josephine Teo looks attentively toward Dr Michelle Ho who is gesticulating with her hand raised and open. The image is overlayed with a question box: "What is intimate image abuse?" Below it yellow subtitles offer Dr Ho's response: "non-consensual filming or sharing of intimate images" In the middle of the page there is a dark blue starburst that reads, "watch all three episodes now!" On the bottom left there is a QR code that links to a YouTube playlist of the videos also linked in the caption of this post. Next to it is a playlist menu icon and a list of the episodes. Episode 1: Deepfakes, Episode 2: Intimate Image Abuse, Episode 3: Online Harassment.
ALT The Straits Times Decades of image-based sexual abuse: How perpetrators evade tech platforms and the authorities In a purple footer: Dr Michelle Ho and the CASMIDA team comment on the development of IBSA in SG with an arrow pointing right
ALT In large, graphic quotes framing the whole image: Dr Michelle Ho, assistant professor at the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) department of communication and new media, and the university’s Campus Sexual Misconduct in the Digital Age (CASMIDA) project team have been investigating the issue of online sexual harms in local universities since 2021. Across two studies conducted between 2021 and 2025, they found that around two in five university students surveyed have experienced technology-facilitated sexual violence. Digital sexual harassment was the most common type, followed by image-based sexual abuse. “This suggests to us that technology-facilitated sexual violence rates – and by extension, image-based sexual abuse rates – have remained consistently high in the past five years,” says Dr Ho, whose team has surveyed more than 3,000 undergraduates.
ALT In large, graphic quotes framing the whole image: NUS’ Dr Ho and the CASMIDA team note that many social media platforms and dating apps have made strides in addressing cyberflashing – the practice of sending unsolicited explicit images – and the non-consensual sharing of images through safeguards such as automatic blurring and blocking users from taking screenshots. At the same time, there is a growing market for non-consensual intimate images on widely used platforms like Telegram, as well as an increasing accessibility to AI-generative tools used to create such images like “nudify” apps. “Because of the fast pace of change within digital landscapes and the internet, the threat of image-based sexual abuse, how it manifests and how we perceive it are constantly evolving,” says Dr Ho.
ALT "However, accessibility of technology alone does not explain the persistence of image-based sexual abuse in Singapore, as the culpability falls on those who exploit these technologies, says Dr Ho. Over the course of their five-year study, Dr Ho and her team have found a slew of normalizing behaviors that entrench the issue here. Image-based sexual abuse is often downplayed or minimised. Victim blaming is prevalent and there is often a perception that such abuse is routine, especially for women. Male victims are also reluctant to identify as such because victims are often assumed to be women."
ALT Purple box contains a quote: “All of this is to say that we cannot talk about the technical factors that facilitate image-based sexual abuse without discussing the social factors underlying such harms in Singapore,” says Dr Ho. A QR code links to the article (linked in main thread post) accompanied by text: "Decades of image-based sexual abuse: How perpetrators evade tech platforms and the authorities by Kai Xiang Teo. Read the full article online at straitstimes.com"
ALT @onlinesexualharmssg @casmidaproject Myth vs Fact: Online Sexual Harms Part 2 Next >
ALT www.oshsg.com Myth: Since online sexual harms occur online, they are not considered sexual violence. Fact: Sexual violence is sexual violence, regardless of the medium through which is occurs (Ho et al, 2025). Next >
ALT www.oshsg.com Myth: Online sexual harms are limited to the digital world e.g. having one's intimate content nonconsensually shared online. Fact: Such harms can shade into the physical world e.g. from online stalking to being sexually assaulted. Next >
ALT Fact: Online sexual harms are not limited to the act, but endure across time and space. Features a QR code to read our 2025 publication. This can be accessed using the DOI linked in the main body of this post.
ALT Title page for Myth vs Fact: Online Sexual Harms
ALT A purple square presents a myth: "Men are supposed to be tough. They cannot be victim-survivors of online sexual harms." A pink square presents a fact: "Whether macho or not, men can experience such harms."
ALT A pink speech bubble presents a myth: "As a man, it is shameful to tell others you experienced online sexual harms." A purple speech bubble presents a fact: "It is okay to seek support as a male victim-survivor."
ALT Fact: People of all genders can experience online sexual harms. A QR code links to our 2025 publication at this url: https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2025.2561138
ALT Purple background topped with cursive script that reads "CASMIDA comments on backlash to feminism." At the center of the image is an iPad displaying an article by South China Morning Post titled "Malaysia, Indonesia top global poll on 'obedient' wives" by Kolette Lim. There is a QR code linking to the article. The bottom of the image credits the post to @casmidaproject with a rightward-pointing arrow encouraging users to read the next image.
ALT Purple text in a white oval at the top of the page asks, "How do men perceive gender equality?" The center of the image features a quote from the CASMIDA team bracketed in large purple quotation marks in a purple box. The quote reads: "Singapore's conservatism often stemmed from state-institutionalised masculine norms that tie male identity to service and stoicism, such as national service, leading to them viewing gender equality as a zero-sum game and a 'systemic betrayal', said Singaporean research team Campus Sexual Misconduct in a Digital Age."
ALT Purple text in a white oval at the top of the page asks, "How do men perceive gender equality?" The center of the image features a quote from the CASMIDA team bracketed in large purple quotation marks in a purple-bordered box on a pink background. The quote reads: "The team said: Rather than challenging institutional logic, male grievance is displaced onto women, sustaining a zero-sum framework that legitimises gender-based violence."
ALT Purple text in a white oval at the top of the page asks, "How do men perceive gender equality?" The center of the image features a quote from the CASMIDA team bracketed in large purple quotation marks in a purple box. The quote reads: "Women may also be viewed as threats to existing power structures when individuals feel uncertainty about their future and opportunities, according to CASMIDA. 'However, this perspective misunderstands rights as a zero-sum game, which it is not.'"
