The IRR Team assisted with 226 reports received by NCSF’s Incident Reporting & Response program in 2025. 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.
2025 Trends
- Decline in reports in the second half of 2025: There was a marked difference between the first half of 2025, with 148 reports from January-June compared to 83 from July-December. This is true across categories, with reports nearly halved (44% drop) in the latter half of 2025.
- Attacks on private membership clubs: 6 private membership clubs needed assistance dealing with local authorities trying to apply or create “Sexually Oriented Business” regulations to shut them down. An additional 7 groups needed assistance with media reports about the legality of their existence.
- Reports about Kink/CNM community organizers: 11% of those accused of a consent violation were community organizers compared to 20% in the previous few years. However, 9 of the 15 outing reports (60%) stated that a community organizer outed them.
- Defamation: Reports dropped by 33% from 15 reports to 10 reports.
- Choking: 5 reports of nonconsensual erotic choking (same as 5 reports in 2024).
Stats
Groups
A record 107 groups, events and businesses requested assistance or a member requested assistance with their group:
- 33 groups asked for a consultation on their consent policies & procedures or training their Consent Response Team
- 27 groups asked about attendees/presenters/organizers or reported they had banned someone
- 10 people needed organizational information and KAP attorneys for setting up an organization
- 7 groups needed assistance with a media crisis involving local authorities
- 6 clubs were ordered to be shut down by local authorities using an anti-SOB (Sexually Oriented Business) regulation
- 6 people needed help with dealing with consent issues with a group
- 4 people reported being banned by a group
- 4 groups asked about liability issues
- 2 groups needed Raid Guide training
- 2 groups needed insurance
- 1 online group reported shadow banning
- 1 group asked about the legality of sex work at their events
- 1 group needed assistance in dealing with a volunteer
- 1 group needed a copyright attorney
- 1 group asked for consent resources for violators
- 1 group needed assistance with defamation
Criminal
56 people made reports & requested assistance about legal issues:
- 43 reports (compared to 69 in 2024) came from people who were assaulted, sexually assaulted, injured, choked, stalked, harassed, threatened, blackmailed, stealthed, exposed to an STI, recorded without consent, safeword ignored, limits ignored, drugged, trafficked, vandalism, theft, violently threatened, or restraining order violated. Five of the 43 reports (11%) which is a sharp drop compared to 14 out of 69 (20%) in 2024, 19% in 2023, and 22% in 2022.
- 7 people requested resources and/or referrals for attorneys to assist in defending themselves against allegations of sexual assault or assault
- 2 people reported public criminal records on people for rape and child pornography
- 1 person received an Order of Protection
- 1 club was questioned by the DA about an alleged assault that occurred there
- 1 detective needed for information on consent to kink for a criminal trial
- 1 person needed information about the legality of BDSM in the U.S.
Professionals
25 requests from professionals about kink and non-monogamy:
- 6 people needed a referral to a mental health professional regarding an interpersonal dispute
- 6 people needed a referral to a mental health professional
- 5 professionals needed information on EPP for kink (2 mental health, 1 law student, 1 sex therapy student, 1 forensic nurse)
- 1 person needed a referral for medical care
- 1 professional needed a peer support group for a kinky sexual assault survivor.
- 1 law student needed stats on kink and child custody
- 1 mental health professional reported a licensure complaint connected to both their professional work and their private lifestyle
- 1 professional reported their workplace was receiving calls for their termination
- 1 producer needed media help for their kink play
- 1 student needed information about sexual choking
- 1 person needed UK kink resources and advocacy orgs
Civil
16 requests for assistance in civil legal issues:
- 10 reports involved defamation compared to 15 in 2024
- 4 people reported job discrimination (1 due to adult age play, 1 due to kink, 1 due to seeing pro-dommes, 1 because swinging allegedly violates their code of conduct)
- 1 person needed a referral for a personal injury legal case
- 1 person reported they filed a Title IX report that was denied
Outing & Doxing
15 groups or individuals reported being outed or doxed (9 reporters said they were outed by community organizers):
- 8 people reported they were outed as kinky (3 by photos)
- 2 organizers reported being outed as kinky and threatened with legal action by the same three individuals
- 1 person was outed as kinky during a child custody case
- 1 person reported being doxxed and harassed
- 1 organizer reported being accused of doxing and outing
- 1 person was outed to their university
- 1 person was outed on Twitter and doxed
Child Custody & Divorce
7 parents requested help with child custody and divorce issues:
- 2 people were involved in divorce cases where they were accused of infidelity due to nonmonogamy
- 1 parent reporting divorce and custody issues due to swinging
- 1 parent reported that organizers were subpoenaed in their child custody hearing and asked why they had banned them
- 1 parent had child custody removed by Social Services due to their work on OnlyFans and adult entertainment.
- 1 parent reported child custody issues with their ex (the parent is a kink educator) due to kink being called “sexual deviance.”
- 1 person reported kink was used against them in child custody case
The APA Diagnostic & Statistical Manual DSM-5 was published in 2013 depathologizing consensual BDSM activities.