According to data released by the Met Police, the pandemic has fuelled a 329% rise in revenge porn offences in London. The Met Police recorded 1,185 cases of private snaps and videos illegally shared online last year - with victims as young as 10. Revenge porn is the distribution of sexually explicit images or videos of individuals without their consent.
Home secretary Priti Patel has been seeking changes to the upcoming Online Safety bill, a wide-ranging piece of proposed legislation aimed at clamping down on fraud, terrorism and other illegal activities on digital platforms. “There is lots of content on social media that is illegal and harmful to children. We want to give Ofcom powers to require companies to mitigate harm on their platforms,” one Whitehall official told the FT.
A BBC study in 2015 revealed that though the average age of a revenge porn victim is 25, 30% of these offences involved children under the age of 11. 61% resulted in no action against the alleged perpetrator.
The UK’s revenge porn helpline experienced its busiest year on record in 2020, with experts predicting the number of images it deals with will increase by 60%. The helpline, run by the charity SWGfL, part of the UK Safer Internet Centre, had cases almost double in April compared with the same month last year – from 122 to 242.
Studies have shown that men are just as likely to be made victims of revenge pornography, even more so for someone who is gay, bisexual or transgender. 25% of revenge porn victims calling ‘The Revenge Porn Helpline’ in 2015 were male. Of these, 40% were from gay men, with approximately 50% of all male cases involving ‘sextortion’ – threats to release sexual images as a form of blackmail.
Since 2015 in England and Wales, it is an offence for someone to share a private sexual image or video (online or offline) of someone without their consent and with the intention of causing them distress. Under Section 33 of the Criminal Justice and Court Act 2015, the offence is punishable by up to two years in prison.
What is revenge porn?
Speaking to Asian Voice, Dr Leila Jameel, Clinical Psychologist, Director of Early Careers, Association of Clinical Psychologists (UK) explained that revenge porn involves the sharing or distribution of private, sexual materials, such as images or videos, of another person, without their consent. This is primarily done with intention of causing embarrassment or distress to the victim. Revenge porn can involve sharing images offline, by showing someone a physical or electronic image, or online, by sharing a text or email or uploading to a website. In some cases, the victim might have willingly shared such images or consented to filming of a sexual act, but not to these being shared in this way. In other cases, these images or materials might have been obtained without the person's permission (eg. secret filming of a sexual act).
Explaining the psychological impact, she said, “The experience of revenge porn can be extremely distressing for its victims, as it is an invasion of their privacy and a violation of their trust. It can lead to bullying and ostracising - both in person from people they know and love, and online from unidentified trolls. This might be particularly difficult for people from marginalised groups such as those from the LGBTQ+ community, or from religious, cultural or ethnic backgrounds where such sexual behaviours are prohibited or frowned upon.
“Revenge porn, or threats to share materials without someone's permission, is extremely damaging to an individual's mental health. This experience can cause a person to have difficulty trusting other people in the future, especially when being intimate with others, either emotionally and/or physically. This experience can also cause people to experience unjustified and strong feelings of shame and guilt about their behaviour - the sexual act itself and the images or materials associated with it.
“This can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) where people experience intrusive thoughts or images associated with or of the event popping into their mind frequently. PTSD can also lead to feelings of being hypervigilant and constantly on guard, which can lead to other difficulties such as difficulty sleeping or the use of drugs and alcohol to help 'them to switch off'. PTSD can also lead to avoiding places, people or situations that remind them of the event. PTSD can also lead to other mental health difficulties such as depression, or paranoid thinking about other fear of harm from others, as seen in psychosis.”
Revenge pornography in Asian communities
Revenge pornography has been a dangerous activity amongst British Asians, especially, when relationships face turmoil.
According to an article in DesiBlitz, one such case arose in October 2017, when Jamel Ali, a British Bangladeshi, released explicit images of his ex-girlfriend to her father to ‘show him what kind of girl she was.’ He was jailed at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court after pleading guilty to distributing intimate images and two offences of harassment without violence. However, a close source to Ali has exclusively revealed that the story being shared in mainstream media was not entirely true, claiming that certain details were “fabricated.”
Online paedophile Abdul Elahi was jailed for 32 years at Birmingham Crown Court in December 2021 after blackmailing victims into committing "sick" child sex abuse while targeting almost 2,000 people.
In early February this year, a man was accused of sexually assaulting three schoolgirls, had around 4,000 indecent images of children on his computer equipment when he was arrested, it has been alleged. Geoffrey Lewis allegedly touched the girls on their breasts and inside their underwear and took a picture of one of them in a shower without her knowledge, Ipswich Crown Court was told.
Not just women
Ameepurva Thaker from the Brown Therapist network told us that she has come across cases of blackmail and revenge porn when she was doing her placement as a trained therapist. “Part of it was controlled from the other person and at times it was from someone they knew,” she said.
Speaking about the kind of help victims require in such cases and the time span it may possibly take for them to overcome the trauma, Ameepurva said, “How long is a piece of string, based on the individual and the impact of trauma.” She added that such victims need help with managing the flashback, and it also impacts their trust and ability to move forward. Such people may have difficulty in managing their self-worth and self-esteem.
Ameepurva feels that working through the trauma can be long term and it is important that the client feels heard and safe. “At my previous placement I worked with someone for over a year, and we had weekly sessions,” she added.
She further added that it’s not just women who are victims. Ameerpurva said, “I have worked with male clients and families who have suffered from this
“Have the conversation and allow for the individual to be able to share and speak to family members and school and not to be blamed.”
South Asian community still frowns upon sexual intimacy before marriage
Sukhvinder Kaur, Founder/Trustee of Sikh Women’s Aid told the newsweekly, “Sikh Women’s Aid recognises the devastation and anguish victims of revenge porn and blackmailing face. We have supported several male and female victims and we are seeing women and people who identify as LGBTQ disproportionately affected. This is a double whammy of trauma because there is still a significant proportion of the South Asian community where sexual intimacy before marriage is frowned upon. We have had clients ring us who are feeling suicidal and traumatised because of images and videos that were shared in trust with an intimate partner and when the relationship breaks down, threats to expose intimate pictures to the victims' family begin.
“Sadly, there have been many cases where perpetrators of revenge porn have shared intimate pictures with a victims' family, and this puts victims at risk of significant harm. They are exposed to 'so called' honour-based violence, suppression of sexuality and some have been threatened with forced marriage due to perceived ‘shame’ and ‘honour’ violations by family and the extended community. Victims have told us that they are plagued with extreme shame and fear and feel like no one will understand let alone support them.
“We also know that bullying in schools can take a sexual form and sometimes victims are forced into non-consensual sexual activity which is filmed or photographed to be used as blackmail.
“It is the opinion of Sikh Women’s Aid that perpetrators thrive on this culture of shame and 'so called' honour knowing that victims will go to extreme lengths to protect themselves which can lead to further abuse.”
Many cases of revenge porn go unreported
Sanam Arora, Chairperson NISAU UK told the newsweekly, “Revenge porn is certainly an area of concern in young people's minds. We have had one quite horrifying case where the guy for years tormented one of our female members in the most publicly demeaning ways and it really became quite an extreme case of harassment, both physical and online.
“The taboo nature of the topic meant that we actually found it quite difficult to be able to utilise the usual redressal available for more common crimes. It is certainly likely that many cases of revenge porn go unreported in our community because the victims fear further consequences. I would urge anyone facing such a situation to contact a relevant authority and feel free to contact the NISAU if you want to have a friendly and confidential chat about any such concerns.”
The Tinder Swindler
Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Seshni Moodliar Rensburg works in the UK at St Andrew's hospital. She’s also the author of Pass the CASC book, a radio and TV presenter at Happy Doctors Kitchen. Contextualising this issue with the contemporary scenario, she believes that recently, revenge porn, blackmailing and cybercrime have been given the spotlight in the media and even on Netflix’s show ‘The Tinder Swindler’ which has become number one. The show depicts the real-life story of extensive cybercrimes where women were defrauded for up to £10 million by The Tinder Swindler.
“In this millennial digital age, meeting someone online, sharing intimate moments, texting, sexting, and online cyber-sex is a norm. Naturally, also with all the dating apps around, it’s normal to share moments of flirting, intimacy, showing affection for someone by engaging in online communication. But, when it goes wrong, when you then are asked to send raunchy pics of yourself to show your affection, or start to be threatened for money or blackmailed, or be a victim of revenge porn it can be an emotional rollercoaster,” the Consultant Psychiatrist told Asian Voice.
According to her, unfortunately, if one becomes a victim of cyber-bullying and does not receive treatment, it can lead to depression, anxiety, social phobia, panic attacks, social isolation, and PTSD. “In severe cases, the victim might try to end their lives and even commit suicide,” the doctor said. Dr Moodliar also added that the perpetrators lack remorse for their victims as see them only as a means to their end game.
“The best way is to avoid such personalities that are too charming, vain, boastful, and manipulative is to identify early who the person is when you start an online relationship. There are subtle tell-tale signs, and clues, that question their requests and actions. Also don’t be fooled by the drama or exaggerated importance they give themselves, find out more, you need to know who you are getting in a relationship, what’s the evidence and is there someone to corroborate their identity. As expected, these perpetrators are smart, slick and so experienced that they sometimes cover all these details, however, there are always clues,” she explained.
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Investing in mentoring youngsters
In an exclusive interview with Asian Voice, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan spoke about the recent plans to provide access to a mentor for every young Londoner in need of support. He said, “The new funding will expand the mentoring offer in the capital now and help young Londoners most in need get the help and support they deserve to reach their potential. This includes children who have been excluded from school or college, those who are impacted by exploitation, young Londoners who are impacted by domestic violence or living in poverty, and those involved in the care system.
“Additionally, we will be drawing on the contacts and connections that London Councils and many volunteers and community sector organisations have across the capital to ensure more young Londoners who are eligible for mentoring have access to the support they need.
“London’s Violence Reduction Unit will also be investing £2.4m in a new three-year mentoring programme as part of their ongoing efforts to tackle school exclusions through effective mentoring programmes. These will work to keep pupils in Pupil Referral Units engaged in their education, motivated and supported to achieve their goals.”
Since children have been away from school, perhaps not been in a safe place if subjected to any kind of violence, we asked Mr Khan about what can be done to prepare them about the basics of intimacy, especially because Asian youngsters may not belong to households that openly talk about safety and intimacy. Can this mentorship programme also take care of sensitising youngsters and their parents in this context? The London Mayor said, “The London Violence Reduction Unit is also investing in schools’ programmes across London that are focused on healthy relationships which include discussing issues such as the impact of social media.”
