Faq

What Is Revenge Porn?

Revenge porn is also referred to as non-consensual pornography. Revenge porn can be defined as the distribution of sexually explicit images or videos of individuals without their consent. It is distributed for a number of reasons, but most often as a means of hurting a former partner.

Can Men Be Victims Of Revenge Porn?

Studies show that women are more frequently victims than men, but men can also be victims. 25% of victims of revenge porn are male. However, 9 out of 10 male victims of revenge porn are also threatened with financial blackmail on top of the humiliation of being exposed online. According to a 2020 insider.com report, a North Carolina man’s ex-wife has used his nude images as a means of blackmail, taking away everything he ever owned, including the legal rights to this home, and his shared business.

In September 2022, Erick Adame, a prominent TV meteorologist at New York’s NY1 became the victim of revenge porn when images were sent to his mother and his supervisor at NY1. The popular Emmy-nominated meteorologist was fired by NY1.

Why Do People Distribute Revenge Porn?

Obviously, some people are motivated by revenge. However, motivations are not simply to revenge.

All revenge pornography “revenge porn”, is, by definition non-consensual pornography. However, not all non-consensual pornography is “revenge porn”. Individuals who distribute non-consensual pornography often have a motivation other than strictly “revenge”.

One of these motivations is financial gain. Reddit claims to have banned the posting of non-consensual pornography in 2015. However, according to a 2022 BBC report, recently women have faced threats of blackmail from anonymous strangers after their personal details, intimate photos and videos were shared on Reddit. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-62564028 The BBC found “[h]undreds of anonymous profiles were dedicated to sharing, trading and selling explicit images – and it all appeared to be without the permission of the women pictured.” Obviously.

Obviously, the ban is not working.

Another motivation is personal sexual gratification for the distributor and others. A all-male invitation only facebook group of which included active-duty and retired Marines, Navy corpsmen, and British Royal Marines was exposed as distributing non-consensual pornography
in 2017. According to a report by the nonprofit news organization “The War Horse “, members of this group solicited, shared, and linked to hundreds of nude photographs and videos of fellow female service members, veterans, and other women all without consent. As part of the posting of these non-consensual images and videos, some of the women were also identified by their full name, rank, and military duty station. According to a report by “refinery29.com”, the non-consensual posts “drew hundreds of obscene comments, and in many cases now-deleted Google Drive dossiers linked from the Facebook page to images of a sexual nature, including the personal information of the subjects.” As a response, the Marine Corps updated its Separation and Retirement Manual to require commanders to consider separation for Marines involved in a “substantiated incident” of revenge porn.

Yet another motivation of the distribution (or threat of distribution) of non-consensual pornography is to coerce non-consensual sexual contact in the real world. According to a 2022 BBC report, a woman whose private images and contact information was posted without her permission on Reddit was threatened with the following message: “If you don’t have sex with me, I’ll send it to your parents. I will come and find you… If you don’t agree to having sex with me, I will rape you.” https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-62564028

Who Are The Victims Of Revenge Porn?

Anyone can be a victim. A 2016 study by Data & Society found that 1 in 25 (or 4%) of Americans have been threatened with exposure of non-consensual pornography, also known as revenge porn. To put this in perspective, this means more than 13,000,000 Americans have suffered with threats of revenge porn. If you are a victim of revenge porn, you are not alone, and it is not your fault. We are here to help.

Obviously, The Ban Is Not Working.

Another motivation is personal sexual gratification for the distributor and others. A all-male invitation only facebook group of which included active-duty and retired Marines, Navy corpsmen, and British Royal Marines was exposed as distributing non-consensual pornography in 2017. According to a report by the nonprofit news organization “The War Horse “, members of this group solicited, shared, and linked to hundreds of nude photographs and videos of fellow female service members, veterans, and other women all without consent. As part of the posting of these non-consensual images and videos, some of the women were also identified by their full name, rank, and military duty station. According to a report by “refinery29.com”, the non-consensual posts “drew hundreds of obscene comments, and in many cases now-deleted Google Drive dossiers linked from the Facebook page to images of a sexual nature, including the personal information of the subjects.” As a response, the Marine Corps updated its Separation and Retirement Manual to require commanders to consider separation for Marines involved in a “substantiated incident” of revenge porn.

Yet another motivation of the distribution (or threat of distribution) of non-consensual pornography is to coerce non-consensual sexual contact in the real world. According to a 2022 BBC report, a woman whose private images and contact information was posted without her permission on Reddit was threatened with the following message: “If you don’t have sex with me, I’ll send it to your parents. I will come and find you… If you don’t agree to having sex with me, I will rape you.https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-62564028