The UK’s current measures to stop non-consensual intimate image abuse are full of loopholes. We need new laws now
Reports of non-consensual intimate image (NCII) abuse, or “revenge porn”, in the UK have increased tenfold over the past few years. But the true scale of the problem is probably larger, as many victims do not come forward.
I didn’t. When I was 17, my Instagram account was hacked by someone I knew, and a graphic image of my body was posted on my profile. Despite being up for only five minutes, it was screenshotted and shared around by boys in my year. The worst part was the powerlessness I felt. I had to seek out these people and beg them to remove the screenshots, and when they didn’t, I went to my school to ask them to intervene. Going to the police felt like it would escalate the situation when I just wanted everyone to forget it. My experience, like those of so many others, never showed up in the official statistics.
Isabel Brooks is a writer
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
Continue reading...
0 Comments