By David Simms, Senior Contributor
One of the more disturbing aspects of online harassment is what they call revenge porn. Revenge porn is the posting or sharing online of sexually illicit photos or video of someone. The vast majority of these cases are based on relationships that have come to an end leaving hard feelings with one or both participants. In most cases women are the subject of most revenge porn campaigns but men can fall victim depending on the circumstances. Revenge porn is often used as leverage in blackmail crimes. There are many case where photos of a person did not involve a relationship per se, rather were intended to be included in a professional portfolio or used as a therapeutic tool. A 22 year old girl in the UK had private pictures taken for her own viewing as a self-image therapy. The pictures were stolen and dispersed around the internet. The company posting the photos wanted to charge her a price she could not afford, to take them down.
One of the more disturbing aspects of online harassment is what they call revenge porn. Revenge porn is the posting or sharing online of sexually illicit photos or video of someone. The vast majority of these cases are based on relationships that have come to an end leaving hard feelings with one or both participants. In most cases women are the subject of most revenge porn campaigns but men can fall victim depending on the circumstances. Revenge porn is often used as leverage in blackmail crimes. There are many case where photos of a person did not involve a relationship per se, rather were intended to be included in a professional portfolio or used as a therapeutic tool. A 22 year old girl in the UK had private pictures taken for her own viewing as a self-image therapy. The pictures were stolen and dispersed around the internet. The company posting the photos wanted to charge her a price she could not afford, to take them down.
It is common for hackers to obtain photos with intent to extort money from a victim. Public figures are especially at risk to this but it is the relationships gone bad, that comprise the majority of cases. In a related matter, people who have their picture taken as a mugshot due to being arrested, may have their photo posted on a public sites. Although this is perfectly legal to do, it can cause extreme embarrassment for a person. When they go to the website hosting the photos, they are commonly given the choice of paying a steep fee to have the picture removed or not paying and having it remain on the web. There are several web-based companies who make their living exploiting mugshots and other acquired media of victims, a practice that is purely despicable.
Nations which have passed laws against revenge porn include Israel, Britain, Germany, and several states in the United States. Although illicit media can be mortifying for those targeted in countries such as the United States, it can be deadly for those in other regions of the world where gender cultural practices are vastly different. For example, if a woman’s pictures are posted in a country like Iran, she could be put to death. This raises the stakes for women in these cultures making them extremely vulnerable. Crimes of this nature are rarely reported in the mainstream media and therefore go unnoticed by most people. This gives a false sense that revenge porn is something merely causing embarrassment when it is something much more sinister and lethal.
