We’ve all seen the headlines, especially this year, that detail how celebrities have been hacked and their private photos stolen and shared across the internet. But what we probably don’t hear about on the daily are the regular, everyday people who also suffer the same humiliation and degradation by becoming victims of their private photos getting hacked or being shared with the world without their consent.
And while there are laws in various states in the US that have criminalized sharing revenge porn, it’s not an issue that’s been addressed for the entire U.S.—until now.
This week, the newest bill, Ending Nonconsenual Online User Graphic Harassment (ENOUGH) Act of 2017, was introduced in Congress. For the first time, it’s a bill designed to address the unwanted sharing of private, explicit images in the whole country.
Related: Why Revenge Porn Is Not Just Celebrity Gossip, It’s A Societal Issue
The ENOUGH Act would specifically ensure the Department of Justice has tools in place to address revenge porn, and establish federal criminal liability for those who share revenge porn and other consensual images. In order to prosecute someone under the ENOUGH Act, there would need to be proof that the person knew the victim expected the image to remain private, and that sharing the image would harm the victim, according to a report by TechCrunch.
“A prosecution would also have to prove that no reasonable person would consider the shared image to touch on a matter of public concern,” the press release about the ENOUGH Act states.
The bill, which has bi-partisan support, also has support from tech companies like Twitter and Facebook. In the last year, Facebook and Twitter have tried to make an effort to crack down on revenge porn. In April, Facebook implemented a photo-matching technology to ensure people can re-share images previously reported and tagged as revenge porn. And last month, Twitter updated its policy to state that no one can post or share “intimate photos or videos” of someone without their consent. So that’s a bit of progress, right there!
Related: Another Type Of Exploitation: Celebs’ Private Photos Hacked And Posted To Porn Sites
“Perpetrators of exploitation who seek to humiliate and shame their victims must be held accountable,” Senator Kamala Harris said in a press release this week. “It is long past time for the federal government to take action to give law enforcement the tools they need to crack down on these crimes.”
While we are a non-religious and non-political nonprofit, we support efforts to protect victims of nonconsensual image-sharing and discourage anyone from violating others’ privacy and trust.
A Widespread Issue
The truth is, this is a huge issue. By some reports, 1 in 25 people in the US are victims of revenge porn, according to a 2016 report from the Data & Society Research Institute and the Center for Innovative Public Health Research.
The massive rise of revenge porn incidents highlights a troubling trend—a growing demand for “real” images from real people (even and especially when they’re underage), and total disregard for privacy and trust in the name of shares and “likes.”
The saddest part is that, even when victims feel ashamed and alone, there are tons of other people who have experienced the exact same thing. It’s been estimated that there are over 2,000 revenge porn sites on the internet, all of which receive enough traffic to continue existing, even despite the existing (but weaker) laws that prosecute people who post revenge porn. The fact is, supply follows demand. And we need to do our part to stop the demand.
Related: UK Schools Might Start Teaching About The Harms Of Porn & Sexting
We’ve all heard a million times that “sex sells,” but apparently so does humiliation and objectification. Do the clicks and “likes” justify living in a world in which a majority of people agree that revenge porn is totally fine, or a world in which we consume porn even though consumers acknowledge that it’s extremely degrading? Even if something like posting images of someone or sharing confidential photos can seem harmless at first, it’s degrading, humiliating, and life-ruining.
Dignity Is Dignity
We often speak about the serious dangers of sexting but let the crucial message of consent permeate your conversations about the issue of revenge porn. Whether any revenge porn victim “should have” sent someone a private photo or not, the simple fact is that thousands of people violate the law every day and publicly upload a photos or videos that are considered revenge porn, and that’s not acceptable.
Related: Pressing Send: Why Sexting Can Actually Be A Really Bad Idea
This is an issue that can ruin lives and stunt the success of countless people in our generation, and we should care about stopping it. When in doubt of the real horrors of revenge porn, just remember the story of the Italian woman who eventually committed suicide after a sex tape became public, or the story of victim-turned-advocate Leah Nicole, who was the victim of revenge porn when she was just 14, or the other 14-year-old who was victimized by someone posting explicit photos of her on Facebook.
It can happen to anyone, but not if we actively fight to raise awareness on the realities of revenge porn and the dangers of publicly uploading images.
Let’s Work Together
We can do better. Each one of these acts is horrifying and tragic, and each one could have been avoided if we, as a society, are educated on the dangers of sexting and put more emphasis on teaching people that exploitation is never acceptable.
Let’s remember that this is fundamentally about consent, sexual exploitation, and treating people like people, not objects. Fight the fight against all porn, including the humiliation of victims through cyberbullying and revenge porn.
What YOU Can Do
Share this article to spread the word about this exciting new development in the fight against revenge porn!
Spark Conversations
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