Recording or sending intimate sexual images is something that is usually done in trusted places as an erotic, funny and secret game. However, what was once an innocent photo or a harmless video may become for many women cause for worry, anguish or despair. To the point of committing suicide to end the agony. Perversely known as “revenge porn,” the practice of sharing intimate content with third parties without consent is not only cruel and disgusting, it’s also a criminal offence.
In 2012 advisor oblivion ants She was the victim of a sex video leaked by her ex-partner, which forced her to distance herself from politics and pushed her into a tough fight in the courts to achieve justice, which never came.
Hormigos herself spoke repeatedly of the humiliation and damage caused by the distribution of these images. However, the judiciary did not agree with him. However, the case received enough publicity that a special type of punishment for this type of crime was created in 2015.
The worst face of a sexual content leak: the Iveco case
In May 2019, Veronica, an employee of an Italian industrial group iveco and a mother of two children, four years and nine months old, was in a similar situation, although her outcome was different. After more than ten days of accusations, ridicule and humiliationVeronica succumbed to the pressure and took her own life to end the suffering and shame imposed on her by the distribution of intimate images to her colleagues without consent.
More than 2,500 people worked at his factory. She herself, a few days before her suicide, shared her situation with the personnel department, naming the culprit. Nobody did anything to help her.. Not for understanding. The company did not activate the sexual harassment prevention protocol despite being required to do so, and his colleagues continued to share images and make fun of them. While Veronica could not stand it.
After a year of investigation and the suicide of the only possible applicant, the investigation was closed due to, according to judicial sources, “lack of a known perpetrator” and “lack of complaint”. Neither the perpetrator of the crime, nor those who shared the pictures – and made fun of them – nor the company that allowed everything to happen in front of them, did not suffer any consequences of the damage caused. Despite the fact that they were all participants in the contempt, degradation and subsequent suicide of Veronica.
The real name of revenge porn
In order to better understand the social mechanisms underlying this egregious violation of privacy, in hypertext We spoke with Leire Lasuen, Head of Training at Pantallas Amigas. The expert notes that the name “revenge porn” is inappropriate and tendentious. “This suggests a previous insult on the part of the victim, pretending that this is a form of ‘settling of accounts’.” Although it actually indicates “It’s a form of gender-based sexual cyberviolence”.
Lausen explains that this is a way to harm women, “very simple and accessible to everyone.” And that this is happening within a macho society that “tends to restrict and condemn the exercise of women’s sexual freedom.” The same society that subsequently “instead of protecting the victim and his privacy, revictimizes him.”
These acts of virile cyberviolence are nothing less than a new way of exercising the old domination of men over women. Through the unauthorized dissemination of intimate images, perpetrators seek to humiliate and punish their victims so that they know their place.
In addition to being a violation of privacy and the right to self-image, this misnamed “revenge porn” puts women in a completely helpless position, according to Leire Lasuen. “There is no chance that the images will no longer be available to third parties, known or not.” What causes from pictures of long-term anxiety or depression, which are exacerbated in the case of bullying, to problems in the personal or work environment.
But what does the law say about so-called revenge porn?
About 20% of women aged 18 to 24 have experienced the dissemination or threat of their images being disseminated without their consent. However, many of them are not sure how to proceed in this situation and whether they can report it.
This was announced by the coordinator and legal adviser of the Commission of Inquiry into the abuse of women in the Basque Country, Helena Gil. hypertext legal details of the unfairly named “revenge porn”. This expert tells us that in these cases, the right to privacy is violatedcollected in article 197.
About 20% of women aged 18 to 24 have experienced the dissemination or threat of their images being disseminated without their consent.
In particular, “Section 197.7 establishes that anyone who distributes, discloses or transmits images or recordings of this kind to third parties shall be liable to imprisonment or a fine.” A punishment that is aggravated “when the facts were committed by the spouse or partner of the victim”. This last measure takes into account the scope of sexist violence in which this practice takes place. Although this does not justify itself, ignoring the fact that the mechanisms of gender violence are still present in the distribution without the consent of the couple.
Despite the difficulty, Gil states that it is also possible to prosecute people who share and distribute this content if their involvement is proven. Although it highlights the importance of “educating on the prevention of sexist violence” so that such behavior does not “recur”. “We cannot forget that those who commit these crimes are not always of legal age,” he recalls. For this reason, he adds, “we must bet on affective sex education.”
Leakage of intimate content, heir to the pornographic society
Helena Gil, an expert on violence against women, has no hesitation in identifying pornography as one of the frameworks in which sexual content is leaked without consent. “In my opinion, the big problem lies in the affective-sexual education of adolescents,” he says. “We see How are they educated with pornographywithout healthy relationship referents.”
A situation that forces adolescents to normalize ever higher levels of violence in sexual-affective relationships. And also that they dehumanize their comrades from a very young age. “The proliferation of intimate images and the fact that they find themselves on pornographic pages many times is nothing less than proof of everything that we condemn,” concludes Gil.
For the victims of this misnamed “revenge porn,” reality is becoming increasingly unbearable. Something that is exacerbated by the complaint process. For this reason, Gil recommends seeking all the help you need. “Associations that work to prevent sexist violence, go to the nearest city hall’s equal zone, and seek support from family and/or friends.” “It is important,” he emphasizes, “that women feel protected and supported.”
It can be very difficult to reconstruct the facts at the time of filing a complaint, especially in cases of – unfortunately very frequent – re-victimization of the complainant. Throughout the process, Gil warns, “the opposing side will try to elicit privacy aspects to make sure the distribution of the images has been agreed.” Therefore, support and sympathy are needed.
Practice that comes from afar
The dissemination of sexually explicit images of women without their consent to humiliate them and remind them of power over them is unfortunately not new. As early as 2012, Charlotte Lowes, the mother of the victim, managed to get the FBI to shut down a well-known personal image leak site that had ruined the lives of thousands of girls. The case became much more famous a few years later thanks to a Netflix documentary.
In 2017 Guardian publicly warned about 51,300 potential cases of “revenge porn” on Facebook. Some of them involved minors. Meta — the new name for the social media subsidiary — has always recognized that preventing this kind of content is a top priority for the company. But so far they have only made promises. The last thing they will use is artificial intelligence to eliminate this type of images.
Incidents of the dissemination of private content affect not only the victims, but all women. According to Leire Lasuen, they “may see their freedom limited when, out of fear of the consequences of this kind, they avoid practices such as sexting.” To prevent these situations, he suggests educate in equality. Also “to raise awareness in society at large so that they know how to respect and not become accomplices.”
Expert Helena Gil shares something. For whom the focus should be on “preventing this behavior”. Something that “goes through affective-sex education, creating healthy relationships and raising awareness of the damage this type of sexist violence causes.”
We must not lose sight of the fact that this practice is part of a system of violence against women that must be corrected through education and effort. But it is also a crime that should be properly punished. Including all the links in the chain that contribute to the degradation, humiliation and cruelty towards women.
Source: Hiper Textual
I am Garth Carter and I work at Gadget Onus. I have specialized in writing for the Hot News section, focusing on topics that are trending and highly relevant to readers. My passion is to present news stories accurately, in an engaging manner that captures the attention of my audience.
