The IRR Team assisted with 213 reports received by NCSF’s Incident Reporting & Response program in 2021, compared to 126 in 2020 and 183 in 2019. IRR instituted a new category of Outing & Doxing due to the unprecedented number of outing incidents: 4 groups and 16 people reported being outed or threatened with outing.
NCSF maintains the confidentiality of those who come to us for help, however we balance that with the need to report the services we are providing and to provide the community with a record of where the need is the greatest. Here is a breakdown of the cases the IRR Team dealt with in 2021:
Groups
74 groups, events and businesses requested assistance or a member requested assistance with their group, compared to 36 in 2020 and 75 reports in 2019:
· 25 groups were asking about presenters/organizers or reporting they had banned someone
· 22 groups asked for a consultation on their consent policies & procedures or dealing with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
· 7 people asked for assistance in dealing with their group’s handling of consent policies & procedures or dealing with DEI incidents
· 6 people were banned by a group and want to appeal it
· 6 people were looking for resources and an attorney to incorporate and open a club
· 3 groups were dealing with denial of services and de-platforming
· 3 groups needed media crisis assistance
· 2 groups needed assistance in reaching out to local authorities or services
Criminal
71 people made reports & requested assistance, a sharp increase from 40 reports in 2020 and 39 reports in 2019:
· 48 reports came from people who were assaulted, sexually assaulted, stalked, harassed, threatened, blackmailed, revenge porn, exposed to an STI, stealthed, or applying for a restraining order
· 18 reports requested resources and referrals for attorneys and resources to assist in defending themselves against allegations of sexual assault, domestic violence, human trafficking, stalking, a restraining order or they a needed an expert witness
· 2 reports of being charged with obscenity (1 photos and 1 fiction)
· 2 reports involved sex work
· 1 report was from someone who was called as a witness in a criminal case
Professionals
27 requests from professionals about kink and non-monogamy compared to 22 in 2020 and 32 in 2019:
· 13 professionals, researchers and students needed information about kink or CNM
· 10 people were looking for a kink or polyamory aware therapist, mediator or medical professional
· 2 professionals reported licensing issues due to their kink behavior
· 1 person reported a professional wasn’t actually licensed
· 1 professional needed information on advertising to sex workers under FOSTA
Outing & Doxing
20 groups or individuals reported being outed or doxed in 2021 compared to 4 people who reported being outed in 2020. Due to the sharp increase, IRR created this new category:
· 10 people were outed to employers, their family or online or were threatened with outing as kinky
· 2 people reported being outed as polyamorous
· 4 people reported being doxed
· 4 groups were threatened with outing or were outed
Civil
11 requests for assistance in civil legal issues compared to 16 in 2020 and 21 in 2019:
· 4 people faced job discrimination (4 due to kink and 2 due to polyamory)
· 3 professionals reported they were de-platformed
· 3 people needed information on housing and polyamory
· 1 media outlet received a cease & desist for trademark infringement
Child Custody & Divorce
10 people requested help with child custody issues compared to 12 in 2020:
· 7 involved kink (2 involving FetLife photos)
· 2 involved kink and non-monogamy
· 1 involved a transgender parent
Year by year comparison for Child Custody reports:
10 in 2021
12 in 2020
16 in 2019
30 in 2018
27 in 2017
16 in 2016
26 in 2015
37 in 2014