Revenge porn can be defined as the sharing of private, sexual materials, either photos or videos, of another person without their consent and with the purpose of causing embarrassment or distress. Often there will be additional personal information included with the images or videos that are published. This combination can leave a person feeling vulnerable and could possibly put them in danger. At minimum, it is psychologically damaging to the victim.
It is stressful and upsetting to see your own images being circulated on the internet without your consent. These pictures or videos , which are usually taken in a private location, are provided to the other person with an unspoken agreement that it is intended for ‘their eyes only.’ It can be very disappointing to find out that the picture is now being widely circulated in dark corners of the internet.
Porn viewing in general is bad for you, but revenge porn is especially damaging. The impact of being betrayed this way by someone you once loved and trusted can cause issues in all relationships going forward. Not only is there pain and embarrassment, but also the distrust and self-doubt it leaves behind. Understand that if you have suffered this kind of betrayal it is not your fault. And that you have options.
What to Do If Your Nudes Are Leaked Online
There is no easy answer to that. A good start, however, is to do your best to prevent revenge porn from ever being an option. While both men and women can be the victims of revenge porn, it is most often women who are the targets. Making a point to avoid being videoed or photographed in compromising situations would be the wisest choice for many reasons
If you find that intimate images of you have been recorded without your permission there are laws now that can help you. You can either get the image or videos removed from the revenge website on your own or entrust this task to an experienced professional who knows how to do just that.
The unfortunate thing with the internet is that once a video or image starts circulating online, it is almost impossible to prevent it from reaching your social circles. It is time to clean your online profile and stop the media in circulation before it causes further damage. Here are few things that you should do if your nudes are leaked online.
Keep Calm
It may seem like your world is crashing around you, but attitudes around revenge porn are changing and as a society we are (slowly) moving away from victim blaming. There are more resources now than ever before. This is something you can get through.
Learn your rights
Each state is a little different, but there are a number of laws in place to protect victims of revenge porn and prosecute those who spread it. The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative has information on laws in place, and even in the absence of legislation, you may be able to file cyber security or privacy-related charges.
Understanding Revenge Porn
Revenge porn refers to intimate photographs that are published on a public platform without the consent or prior permission of the person(s) in the photograph. Some of the most common reasons for revenge porn are extortion, ill-will, and sheer maliciousness.
Most cases of revenge porn involve parties that don’t know about each other, and the sites themselves have no connection to the victims at all. A good example of such an arrangement would be the infamous iCloud leaks of various celebrities in 2014.
This was an online attack where intimate pictures of almost 500 celebrities were leaked due to phishing attacks. The event has been dubbed as the “Celebgate” and “The Fappening”, and was widely circulated by complete strangers for the sheer novelty of it.
The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative conducted a survey in 2013 to explore this topic in more details, and it included some 350 victims of revenge porn. The survey found that 90 percent of the victims were women, and almost 60 percent of these attacks involved non-consensual photographs leaked by a vengeful ex-boyfriend.
These pictures significantly impacted the victim’s lives, with 82 percent claiming that the picture resulted in hardships that impaired their professional and social lives.
42 percent of the victims sought psychological help to cope with the mental stress of being a victim of revenge porn. 3 percent of people were so badly affected by it that they ended up changing their legal name.
It Can Happen to Anyone
Anyone on the internet can become a victim of online defamation, since it is indiscriminate and can compromise your professional reputation. The key to protecting your online reputation is stay alerted as soon as something defamatory gets uploaded.
Below are just a few dangers of malicious attacks on your reputation:
- Loss of employment or future job prospects as employers become privy to your smear campaigns.
- Destroyed social relationships, loss of friends, and a frayed private life.
- Being subject to ridicule from the community.
- Loss of scholarships, funding, and sponsorships.
- Loss of loyal customers and businesses.
In the case of small businesses, they are at threat of ultimately closing up shop if they continue to lose leads on a regular basis. In the case of individuals, their relationships, professional lives, and even their overall health can be turned upside down.
It is normal for people to go through severe psychological stress that could compromise their ability to make healthy decisions. These consequences include the following:
- Depression, low self esteem, and anxiety.
- Physical illness, insomnia, and stress.
The reality is that something as serious as revenge porn can completely tear apart a person’s life and how others perceive them. It’s a proven way of destroying their mental health, and it affects their physical health as well, which is why revenge porn is distasteful, deceitful, and inhumane.
Actions You Can Take to Remove Your Online Photos
Don’t let someone else take control of your private life because the law is powerful enough to protect your rights. But you have to take action. Start with collecting evidence. This includes the following:
- the date of occurrence
- details of the incident
- evidence of what happened
- your list of suspects
Attach screenshots, visible URls, text messages, and printouts that reveal specific times, date, text messages, names, voice mail, any form of information that could be used in a court of law.
Make copies of everything to ensure you have all the information on your fingertips for easy access later on.
Asking Websites to Remove your Photos and Videos
Now that you have your evidence, it is time to get those images and videos removed from the internet. Most reputable companies will instantly agree to take the information down, and have gone so far as to create powerful automated web portals that allow you to remove information.
It’s as easy as reporting copyright infringement, and all you have to do is to provide the URL and evidence that the content belongs to you, and the platform will take care of your query.
This is especially true for social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. If an account has been found guilty of posting sexually explicit photos of a person without their prior consent, the company will delete the person’s entire social media account.
Other ‘reputable’ pornography websites like PornHub will also take down any photograph or video that has been uploaded without consent, providing users with an easy-to-use content removal portal.
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