| Trigger Warning: sexual exploitation The heinous “Leak Week.” An intrusive time when sexual images and videos involving Bermudian women circulate online and are the “hot topics” for Bermuda Twitter or Whatsapp groups. My sister was assumed as the woman in one of the photos circulating a couple of years ago. While the person did have the same complexion as her and a similar hairstyle, it was not my sister. Someone must have said it was her, and everyone believed it to be true. Expectedly she freaked out and felt that she had to defend herself. She posted to her Instagram commenting that the woman’s Brazilian wax was A1 but that she was not the person in the photo. Her joking about it online was a defense mechanism. In private, she experienced emotional distress as if she was the woman in the picture and went to therapy because of the trauma. Laughing, shaming, and carelessly sharing these kinds of images is condoning sexual violence. I hope people think twice about participating in any future leak weeks now that The Bermuda Government has introduced a bill to criminalise persons who share non-consensual sexual images. Last Friday, The Criminal Code Amendment (Non-Consensual Sharing of Intimate Images) Act 2021 was supported by MP’s. If approved by the Senate, it will make it an offence to record, observe, and send images or videos of a person involved in a sexual act or showing intimate body parts with their consent. Threatening to release private videos or photos would also be a crime. Before this, distributing intimate sexual images involving adults was not recognised as a crime. Specific laws criminalised child pornography, however, nothing was put in place to protect adult victims. It’s good to see the government holding on to one of their 2020 platforms. In a 2019 Royal Gazette article, Chardonaé Rawlins, MSc.Child and Adolescent Health spoke of the need for non-consensual image sharing and anti-bullying policies due to school-aged children’s prevalence. “My research for my BSc. Psychology dissertation focused on bullying both traditional and non-traditional (cyberbullying) . . . Empirical literature indicates that female revenge porn victims can experience the following: post-traumatic stress disorder, acute anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, self-harming behaviours.” Comments on the article seemed to deter Chardonaé’s message, and the RG’s sensationalised wording undermined her knowledge. “Persons were so focused on the fact that I only had a bachelor’s degree, my age and that my research was conducted in London despite me stating that these issues occur on the island, with substantial evidence supporting my statements.” The hypercriticism does not help but continues to normalise what been happening. Bermuda is small, but when there is a “scandal,” it can seem minuscule. People are hell-bent on finding out who, what, where, and when because it’s likely they know the person. The apathetic demeanor shows a community engaging in sexual exploitation or not even realizing they participated in exploitation – the latter being more dangerous. Stop blaming the victim. Men and women send nudes for different reasons. Regardless of why, the fact is that they’re sending these images to someone they trust. No one deserves this kind of invasion of privacy. Anyone who takes sexual photos or videos and distributes them without consent is a sexual abuser. The harmful intent of sharing sexual photos is a form of rape culture; it normalizes sexual violence. This new bill is necessary. However, with implementing it, it’s also time to replace the term ‘revenge porn.’ The language places fault on the victim as if they’ve wronged the other person and justifies disseminating these images. This isn’t a form of retaliation from an angry ex-partner. It is image-based sexual abuse. It is not remiss that those who’ve had their sexually intimate images shared without their consent experience similar emotional effects to physical sexual assault victims. Stating what it is shows the harmful intent and magnifies the pain endured by victims. What about ones who freely post sexual images of themselves online? OnlyFans and viral TikTok’s like the #SilhouetteChallenge allow women and men to embrace their sensuality. Cyber harassment and non-consensual leaks exist in these spaces as well. If laws are made to protect the victim truly, they should be done with the mindset to advocate for a person’s right of autonomy – but that’s a discussion for another time. – Chenae ♥ |
| What I’ve Read: If Amazon workers are not taking breaks then how are they using the bathroom? “The white response to climate change is literally suffocating to people of color.” A report on Medium’s pivot and what does this means for its online publications. An op-ed on how conservative outrage of Lil Nas X “Montero” reeks of hypocrisy. |
| What I’ve Binged: Cuts Heal in Time – Mac Aryes. After listening to his new album, I revisited this classic many times last week. |
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