By Tori J. Miller

Crime Victims Resource Center director

A topic that has been in the news lately is revenge porn, also called cyber exploitation or nonconsensual pornography.  One aspect of this type of exploitation is when a jilted spouse or former partner posts intimate pictures of their ex-partner on the internet complete with their name and contact information in an attempt to blackmail or embarrass their victim.  A McAfee study reports that “10 percent of ex-partners have threatened to expose compromising photos of their ex online, and 60 percent of the time they followed through with their threats.”  Sometimes the perpetrators don’t know their victims at all but sell their pictures or videos online for financial gain.  In either case, sometimes the victim doesn’t know that their picture is being taken or that a video is being made, or hackers access their private pictures to sell for money.

Being the victim of this type of exploitation has a profound effect.  It can destroy people’s lives by doing permanent harm to their reputation, career and home life.  Some feel so isolated and overwhelmed by their victimization they consider suicide.  The victim-blaming attitudes they may encounter work to magnify these feelings. 

Victims have new tools to use in their fight against this type of exploitation.  

Social media, like Facebook and Twitter, and also the search engine Google, have new policies to make it easier for victims to request that nonconsensual porn be removed from these websites.  Also, recent Minnesota law specifically bans publishing sexual photos or images if both people depicted haven’t consented.  And, in July a federal bill — the Intimate Privacy Protection Act — was introduced.  If passed it “would make it illegal for an individual to knowingly distribute sexually explicit material with reckless disregard for the victim’s lack of consent.”

If you would like more information about revenge porn or if you may be a victim of this type of crime please call Crime Victims Resource Center at 507 437-6680 for assistance.