Revenge Porn: Dumped Boyfriends Leak Exes’ Nude Pictures

In this technological age, many people send intimate photos to their partners in the privacy of their relationship. Eight percent of middle school and high school students admitted to sending or posting nude or semi nude photos of themselves (U.S. Department of Education, 2010). When naked photos are posted on the Internet it might seem that the person posted it themselves to get attention. The truth is that this is not always the case.

The topic of revenge porn was discussed in a recent story by CNN. Revenge porn is when a nude photo or video is publicly shared online for the purpose of spiteful humiliation. By no means are guys excluded from this victimization, but an overwhelming majority of the revenge porn pictures posted are those of girls by their ex-boyfriends. Somehow, this doesn’t seem to be a big enough issue that society believes should be punishable by law. According to CNN, only a few states have made revenge porn illegal. New Jersey has a law that deems revenge porn illegal and punishable by law, and California is presently taking steps to pass a law that would make revenge porn illegal. Furthermore, Sen. Anthony Cannella of the California State Senate proposed a law that would protect victims of revenge porn. According to a press release by Cyber Civil Rights Initiative Inc, the bill would enact punishment to “any person who photographs or records by any means the image of another, identifiable person with his or her consent who is in a state of full or partial undress in any area in which the person being photographed or recorded has a reasonable expectation of privacy, and subsequently distributes the image taken, with the intent to cause serious emotional distress, and the other person suffers serious emotional distress.” These are the types of laws that need to be passed nationwide in order to begin protecting females from this kind of abuse.

The fact that there are so many sites that promote revenge porn is ridiculous. To think that someone is making money off the exploitation of women against their consent is appalling. Even sicker is that someone can be so full of spite and anger that they might be pleased by the pain that their victim feels. I don’t know how the people who play either of these roles sleep at night. There should be consequences for this cyberharassment. The emotional trauma that a victim goes through has to be exceptional. A victim’s reality could be flipped upside down after such a horrifying event has transpired.

The impact of the distribution of an individual’s nude or semi-nude photos can be devastating. Being a victim of revenge porn comes with the consequence that any leaked photos exist in cyberspace forever. In addition, some of the sites allow you to publish the victim’s real name, address and phone number. This could lead to stalking and in-person harassment. Not to mention their reputation could be damaged, and that is something that is hard to restore. Oh, and of course we can’t forget the fact that  any Internet surfer has access to see the intimate parts of someone’s body.

Katie Couric hosted a guest on her show who was familiar with this ruthless trend. Holly Jacobs, a victim of revenge porn, called it “cyber-rape.” To me, this is an appropriate term to use for this type of act. It is basically demoralizing females through the use of the Internet. Jacobs became a victim when her ex changed her Facebook profile photo to a nude photo Jacobs had sent him. You can only imagine how horrified she was. She has now found a way to fight back through creating a website: endrevengeporn.com. Here, she asks victims and supporters to sign a petition that would help change laws on the topic.

The new spread of revenge porn, coupled with the fact that many people do not even flinch when women are disrespected in a plethora of other ways, is an issue. As a culture, it is imperative that we begin to stand up for women and ensure that they are protected from any form of violation, whether it be trespassing boundaries through mental, physical, verbal or technological methods. Now that we are aware of the issue and its pervasiveness, we must pay attention to it. If the American people work to pass laws, victims of revenge porn will have security in knowing that the government will protect them.

Daina Stanley can be  reached at daina.stanley@spartans.ut.edu