Revenge porn is the act of sharing sexually explicit images or videos of a person without that person’s consent. Most of the time the images are acquired by a partner while in a relationship and then distributed without consent after a breakup. It is criminal offence in most countries.
Recently a survey conducted by Institute for Equality between Women and Men in Belgium found out that 1 in 100 Belgians had a nude photo of them circulated without their permission.
Liesbet Stevens, the Institute’s deputy director, claimed that their research demonstrates ‘revenge porn is a big social problem’. Curiously, the victims, who ranged in age from infants to seniors, included equal numbers of men and women (the youngest respondent was 21 and the oldest 65). But when forced to share a nude photo of oneself, women are five times more likely than men to do so, and they are also twice as likely to receive an unwanted sexual image. Only one out of every six victims choose to report the crime to the police, and one-third of victims do not seek assistance following their ordeal.
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The main excuse provided for the lack of police follow-up is that victims are ashamed or don’t think that making a complaint will accomplish anything. As a result, Federal Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne (Open VLD) argues in the Belgian newspaper De Morgen that ‘victims have nothing to be embarrassed of’ and wants to remove the stigma associated with revenge porn.
The only people who ‘transfer these images without authorization are at responsibility and risk punishment,’ he continued, ‘are at fault and risk punishment’. He noted that, in terms of the law, ‘sending an undesired picture is likewise prohibited and is termed digital exhibitionism’.
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