Tamara Merchant | Naked and ashamed for the world to see

A click of a button can change lives – at times for the worse. Careers are ruined, and a trail of public shame and rue follows. Photographs and videos previously taken and voluntarily shared within the perceived safety of an intimate relationship, in a moment of anger and revenge, are sent to millions of viewers. That personal brand, that reputation you spent decades building is now damaged with one push of a button.

Just for a moment, imagine if you will. You wake up one morning and see that you have missed several telephone calls and a flood of WhatsApp messages from your parents, your pastor, co-workers, and even coming from unknown numbers.

In that gut-wrenching moment your mind immediately assumes that a loved one has died. Dreading what these messages will uncover, you click on a single message and nude images of yourself appear on the screen of your electronic device. In that split second, with one click, you’ve moved from anxiety to absolute, immediate trauma. The axis of your world has shifted.

The legal terminology for this is ‘malicious communication’. Simply put, revenge porn. Whatever it is called, it is described as the unauthorised electronic distribution of sexually graphic images or videos of individuals, with intent to cause some harm to the person depicted in the images. The legal framework for the prosecution of this offence is found in Section 9 of the Cybercrimes Act, 2015.

PUBLIC AWARENESS

As the world grapples with the evil of revenge pornography gaining traction in cyberspace, increasing the public awareness has become crucial in combating this image-based offence. The act complained of must be communication sent with the use of a computer, or any other electronic device, with material that is obscene (nude images or videos) that is considered by the wider society as inappropriate and may deprave or corrupt minds. Communication that is sent must be more than simply offensive, in order to breach Section 9 of the Cybercrimes Act.

As difficult as it may be, one useful thing to do if ever you become a victim of this crime, is to collect and preserve the evidence of the pornographic material shared by taking a screenshot of the website or wherever these images appear. Next, take these images to the police immediately. It would also be prudent to notify those upon whom you will lean on for support. You can also take comfort in the fact that Parliament has taken this offence seriously, so much so that any person convicted for the offence of malicious communication could face a term of imprisonment between four and 20 years and a fine in excess of $4 million, depending on the court in which you are convicted.

For the rest of us who may or may not stand in judgement of victims of revenge pornography, consider the following:

1. Shaming and blaming will not help.

2. Resharing the material by electronic means is a criminal offence.

3. A survey conducted by the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative shared data from a US survey which showed that one in eight adults are victims of non-consensual image sharing, and one in 20 admitted to sharing intimate images without consent; and as much as 90 per cent of these victims are women, who are disproportionally blamed.

BEAR THE BRUNT

It is easy to soften and yield to a request from your love interest to send him or her nude images of your person. Today, revenge pornography can be viewed on as many as 3,000 websites, and the potential audience is unlimited. Take heed, revenge pornography knows no gender, age, or status. Surveys revealed that females and children bear the brunt of this savage crime.

Additionally, your employment may be terminated, coupled with the difficulty in gaining future employment. It is extremely difficult, and sometimes near impossible, to remove online content from websites; and because of the difficulty in removing content, their permanence can be far-reaching.

In a click-like-and-share society where everyone wants to be breaking news, the only real control you have in preventing images of yourself from going viral is to not capture them or allow them to be captured. You are responsible for your own reputation, or to use the language of millennials, your brand.

Consider the long-term and negative impact that follows the release of these private images: the public humiliation; powerlessness; and permanent impact on your personal and professional reputation. Criminal legislation is there to combat revenge pornography, but you prevent it. Do not participate in your own victimisation. Let us not be like the protagonist of The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne, of whom the author Nathanial Hawthorne wrote, “She could no longer borrow from the future to ease her present grief”.

Revenge pornography will alter your life irreparably.

Tamara Merchant is assistant director of public prosecutions and member of the Cybercrimes and Digital Forensics Unit at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.