Revenge Porn

The legal and perhaps more accurate term is "nonconsensual pornography (NCP)," defined as the distribution of sexually graphic images of individuals without their consent.

As many cases of revenge porn come about following a relationship breakdown, it would make sense for people to think about establishing boundaries regarding social media and the sharing of personal images before the relationship reaches that level.

A harmless selfie on a date is not a worry, but anything that is intimate or explicit should be thought through carefully. Establishing trust is easy when both parties are keen to explore relationships, but this trust can easily breakdown, so be prepared.

In the US and UK, social media prenuptial agreements are becoming more common as couples look to protect themselves legally, not only from a financial perspective but also from damages to their personal or professional digital reputation through revenge porn or other online harassment and abuse.

First, do not blame yourself, despite this being the easiest road to take. If we think back to the statistic that 38% of men and 35% of women have sent their partners an explicit photograph of themselves, someone reading this has likely "sexted" before. What you can do is think before you hit send.

The media has adopted campaigns and public service announcements to help remind teens and adults that sexting is a choice (however, we realize there are instances when people feel pressured to do this).

If your photos are on social media platforms such as Twitter, they provide a short, easy form to report the photos and get them removed. Revenge porn victims can also utilize other domain tools to find contact information about policies and emails to request photos and videos be removed. In most instances, the images are considered to be'selfies,' which means the person who took the picture is considered to own the copyright.

Copyright infringement, or DMCA takedowns, could be a quicker and much easier way to get images removed. Site owners do not want to infringe on copyrights and will act quickly if they deem themselves to be in breach. Google has also responded to the spread of revenge porn by introducing clearer guidelines on the removal of non-consensual, explicit, or intimate images.

For further help with a revenge porn problem, you can visit our Support Hub to learn more about the various ways we can help you with your particular situation. Alternatively, we have collated a list of useful organizations that can help you with some of the effects of revenge porn, such as anxiety and depression.

As of July 2017, in America, there are currently 38 states that have revenge porn laws, with legislation pending in seven additional states. Likewise, in the UK, there are similar laws, and since their enactment in 2015, over 200 people have been successfully prosecuted.

A new law was also introduced to Scotland in early 2017—the Abusive Behavior and Sexual Harm Act. New Zealand also has protective legislation called the Harmful Digital Communications Act.

Other countries, including Canada, the Philippines, and Israel, have also criminalized non-consensual pornography.

People who are victims of revenge porn may feel "dumb" for consenting to it, but they did so out of trust for the recipient. When this is betrayed, it instills enduring trust issues for future relationships.

Victims of revenge porn often feel immense distress and feelings of anger, guilt, paranoia, depression, or even suicide. There may also be a deterioration in personal relationships and feelings of isolation stemming from the inherent trust issues that usually extend beyond just the perpetrator.

These effects, if not properly addressed, can lead to long-term coping issues and mental health effects such as depression, shame, withdrawal, low self-esteem, and feelings of worthlessness.

The website Reddit asked anonymous users to post about their experiences with revenge porn and how it affected their lives. Some of the community feedback included the following:

• "I had to move away from the people who saw the images; they can never 'unsee' me naked."
• "I quit my job. My ex, who was friendly with my boss, threatened to show people at my company the images if I didn't."

Livelihoods, much like with personal attacks, are at stake, and it can cost thousands of dollars a month to scrub the internet of photos and videos. As noted on the Reddit website, some people have to quit or have lost their jobs due to threats or personal feelings of shame. Others have had to leave cities or schools because their peer network has seen the photos, all costly outcomes.

The following statistics are from a survey of 5,000 adults conducted by the dating website Match(dot)com in 2012:

• 57% of men and 45% of women had received an explicit photograph from their partners.
• 38% of men and 35% of women had sent their partners an explicit photograph of themselves.
• 94% of Americans believed that their intimate photographs were safe in the possession of their current partners.
• 10% of ex-partners had threatened to expose naked photographs of their ex-partners, and 60% of those who made such threats had actually followed through.

In the UK, the BBC reported that in England and Wales, there had been 1,160 reported incidents of revenge porn from April 2015 to December 2015, with some victims reporting being as young as 11 years old. However, 61% of reported offenses resulted in no action being taken against the alleged perpetrator.

These statistics demonstrate how large numbers of people have been affected by revenge porn, which is a growing concern.

The first websites completely dedicated to revenge porn began surfacing in 2008, and the subject is now a feature section on over 3000 websites worldwide. If you multiply that by the almost 3.3 billion internet users, the potential audience for revenge porn is frightening.

During an episode of the Bravo reality show "Vanderpump Rules" that was filmed in 2013, reality star Stassi Schroeder revealed that she had performed a sexual act on a live webcam for a boyfriend who was out of town. Later, at the show's reunion, Schroeder revealed that the act had been recorded without her knowledge and that the video was being shopped around for potential buyers.

Speculative purchasers, including the media and press, joked that it could become the next "Kim K. and Ray-J." After the reunion episode, Schroeder shared her feelings with the show's producers:

"I only did this one time. It only took one try."

"I don't like reliving this."

"I remember when people first heard about it... People say I looked 'hot' but that didn't help me."

Some might call Schroeder very, very lucky. Her boss and namesake of the show, Lisa Vanderpump, paid the perpetrator $900 for the video in exchange for receiving the sole copy. Despite obtaining the footage before wide release, Schroeder publicly said she regretted the act and was humiliated in subsequent relationships.

Other celebrities have been victims of revenge porn, even when they did not freely distribute photos or videos. In some instances, celebrities kept photos on their personal mobiles or laptops, and anonymous hackers gained unlawful access to their devices and threatened to go public unless they were paid ransoms; such was the case with Jennifer Lawrence.