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ARC Grant Teen-informed strategies to counter sexual image abuse and sextortion

Many teens use sexts to explore emerging sexual citizenship. Yet teens-who-sext may experience severe legal consequences, as well as risking shaming, blackmail, school expulsion and psycho-emotional distress. ‘Don’t sext’ is not working: 87% of 14-18-year-old Australian school students say they receive sexts; 70% send them. Based at the new ECU City Campus, in a productive research-intensive team tied to a national Australian government grant, your PhD project will address a research question linked to image-based sexual harassment and abuse, sextortion, sexualised deepfake porn, AI companions and/or AI sex chatbots. You may also address social dynamics where teens worry that reporting abuse might see them, as victim, accused of creating child exploitation material (the initiating sext). Project outcomes align with a Rights of the Child approach and aim to mitigate risk, reducing harm while supporting vulnerable young people.

Important dates

Opens: 1-08-2025 Closes: 28-08-2025

Applies to

Domestic International Postgraduate Research

At a glance

Your thesis will contribute to understanding at least one aspect of Australian teen behaviour regarding the sharing of intimate images and/or other technologically facilitated intimacies.

Eligibility guidelines

To be eligible for this scholarship applicants must:

  • Completed an Honours or Masters degree.
  • Well-developed understandings of ethical research.
  • Confidence in interviewing high school students and/or their parents about complex personal matters which may include areas of embarrassment or discomfort (eg. Consumption of adult content by teenagers).
  • Demonstrated research skills in a field relevant to this project.

Selection Criteria

  • Evidence of ability to work in and contribute to a busy research team. (The scholarship holder is expected to live in, or move to, WA.)
  • Undergraduate degree in a relevant subject, with evidence of success in an Honours or other graduate program.
  • An interest in and, ideally, evidence of interview-based research and/or focus-group based projects.
  • Capacity to analyse information and see its relevance to an overarching research question.
  • Commitment to the public communication of research outcomes.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Terms and conditions

Candidates should be available for interview on Friday 12 September. In addition to the interview there will be a 45-minute (written) aptitude test. These can be done remotely.

How to apply

Please send a covering letter, plus a 2-4 page CV, and a statement of no more that 3 pages addressing both the eligibility guidelines and the selection criteria.

For more information

Questions about this scholarship can be directed to l.green@ecu.edu.au

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