Revenge Porn — What Parents Need to Know About Nonconsensual Pornography

Eleven years old. That’s the age of one of the youngest victims of “revenge porn,” also known as nonconsensual pornography (NCP).

According to the UK Daily Mail, the Scottish child was one of 25 children under 16 in North East Great Britain who were victims of this cybercrime. All were understandably traumatized; some of them even switched schools.

Today, according to the Data and Society Research Institute, approximately 4% of Americans report having a nude or nearly nude image of themselves posted online without their consent, and one in 10 young women have received threats that their explicit images will be shared. 

Revenge porn has become a worldwide problem that victimizes both males and females. And now, legislation is starting to finally catch up to it.

What Is Revenge Porn? Not Necessarily What You Think

Although “revenge porn” is discussed in often tragic and almost always malicious circumstances, the truth is more nuanced and perhaps more callous. The organization Cyber Civil Rights is dedicated to the prosecution and eventual eradication of NCP. It defines the crime as this:

“The term ‘revenge porn,’ though frequently used, is somewhat misleading. Many perpetrators are not motivated by revenge or by any personal feelings toward the victim. A more accurate term is nonconsensual pornography (NCP), defined as the distribution of sexually graphic images of individuals without their consent.”

Often, of course, there is malice involved. Nude or sexually explicit images shared during a relationship become online fodder once the relationship ends; what was once an intimate moment is shared with the world. That is, indeed, personal.

Consent is still at the base of every example of NCP. Celebrities, for instance, end up with explicit material shared by people who don’t know them at all — they simply want to make money or fame off of the sharing. Courts have ruled that the celebrities in question (think Alyssa Milano, Jennifer Lawrence, and other mostly-female celebs) actually own their images, making the NCP more of a violation of copyright law and privacy than harassment.

NCP and the Law

There are now 46 states and one US territory that have some sort of NCP law on the books.

One of the latest (and perhaps most flawed) laws is in New York. Signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo in July 2019, the law makes it a Class A misdemeanor to share a person’s private nude images online. According to Wired, NCP victims will get an order of protection and be able to file for workplace harassment if the offender is a colleague.

“This law should put pervs on notice,” says Carrie Goldberg, founder of victim’s rights law firm C.A. Goldberg, to Wired. “The gavel will come down hard on anybody foul enough to take somebody else’s sexual autonomy into their own hands.”

That’s all well and good, except the litmus test for this law still falls under harassment and intent. The victim must prove that an intent to harm was present, rather than it being simply wrong to share the material at all. 

For instance, the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative points out that, according to its research, about 80% of NCP is done by strangers, sharing for totally impersonal entertainment. 

“The hacker who spread images of Jennifer Lawrence, Gabrielle Union, and other female celebrities in 2014 says he bore them no personal ill will,” Wired stated. “If the law instead considered nonconsensual pornography an invasion of sexual privacy, perpetrator motive becomes a nonissue in every single incident.”

But the sexual privacy argument is problematic to some, especially the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). In a legislative memo, the ACLU worried that eliminating the intent clause would violate the First Amendment, making NCP laws less likely to hold up in court. Plus, it said that such laws would disproportionately punish young people who are used to sharing “racy content reflexively or as social currency.”

Big Judgements Against NCP Perpetrators

If you can prove malicious intent, there are some hefty fines headed your harasser’s direction. One case that wove its way through the California court system since 2013 just ended in a 6.5 million dollar judgment, the largest damages ever in a non-celebrity NCP case.

The victim dated the perpetrator both locally in California and long distance, sharing personal, explicit images and one video of herself with her boyfriend. After the relationship ended, he threatened to “ruin her life,” and created a fake OK Cupid profile of her (complete with her phone number and address), requested responses,  and posted her images. 

The victim received more than 30 messages from strangers, even one that said he was coming to her home. And her angry ex wasn’t done: one more dating site, and a video distributed through a porn site, completed the violation. 

By 2013, the victim had the wisdom to copyright her images. When they reached a dedicated revenge porn website, the legal case began. Now, the perpetrator must pay his former girlfriend 6.5 million dollars. While no amount of money makes up for the trauma, it might serve as a deterrent for other vengeful men and women out there.

What to Do If You’re a Victim of NCP

Whether the NCP was done in malice or in anonymous thoughtlessness, the trauma is real and lasting. So what do you do if you or your child (remember: this hits kids as young as 11) ends up a victim of it?

First off, if you have the presence of mind, start documenting the abuse immediately. The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative stresses: “Capture screenshots of everything and save them to a folder on your computer—website pages, results from a Google search of your name, and any messages, friend requests or emails you received as a result of the posting. Then print everything. This will serve as your evidence [should you choose to file legal charges].”

Since up to 49% of all NCP victims are stalked or contacted by strangers, feelings of violation and fear of bodily harm are very common.  The USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work has some suggestions, through Jessica Klein, clinical social worker and lecturer in the Department of Adult Health and Wellness.

“Seek out comfort and safety through any tactics you have used in the past to deal with stress. This may include going to a friend’s house or asking a trusted family member to come to your home,” Klein said in an article on the USC website. “Establish physical safety and work with supportive friends or family to get the image removed, or call a crisis hotline such as the National Sexual Assault Hotline.”

Obviously, seeing a good therapist who specializes in sexual trauma is an excellent idea. Remember: sexual trauma doesn’t have to be physical to be very real, and it’s important for victims to be able to reclaim their power after such incidents. Klein recommends working through it with others, regardless of your legal plans.

 “Whether or not you choose to report the crime, remain attuned to your emotional and psychological needs. Over time, with continual support from friends, family or a therapist, you can regain a sense of empowerment over your life—and this is the most important thing,” Klein advises.

What Is Revenge Porn? — Sources

UK Daily Mail
Data and Society Research Institute
Cyber Civil Rights
Wired
USC School of Social Work
National Sexual Assault Hotline