Still battling the psychological trauma of seeing her intimate videos and photographs shared online, one victim of the local illicit porn market is warning young women not to record and share provocative images of themselves.
Hannah Smith (not her real name) said having intimate content exposed can ruin women’s lives, as she worries about her future job prospects. While she currently has a supportive boyfriend, she found that some men believe these victims “are for the streets.”
“There is only so much we can do with telling women not to take intimate photos of themselves because it is appealing to a guy. There is another thing with women taking bikini pictures, but for the younger generation, I would say do not take it because you have a whole life ahead of you. You do not know how it can impact you in the future. Photos are not a way of love,” Smith said.
Speaking with Guardian Media yesterday, Smith said that although intimate videos of her and her ex-boyfriend began leaking around August 2023, her friends saw them in a Telegram porn-sharing chat up to January. She believes her ex-partner shared the content following a bad break-up in March 2023.
Fast-forward to August 2023, a random Facebook user directed her to a profile that uses selfies taken from her Instagram account. Within weeks, the random man shared screenshots of Messenger conversations with the fake profile. The profile would tell people about Smith’s intimate content and share it willingly. These photos and videos showed Smith’s face clearly as she got intimate with her ex-partner.
“I felt violated and angry, but it was depressing. I never thought that something like this would happen. I deal with my emotions well, but I shut down. I could not speak to people well.”
Smith said she messaged her ex-partner on Telegram a few days later, inquiring about the videos and the fake profile. While he confirmed having the videos, he denied operating the profile. The ex-partner claimed that he carried his phone for repairs and that someone might have stolen the images there.
However, she said her ex never checked with the phone technician to see whether he accessed the images. Despite her and others reporting the fake profile to Facebook, the company claims the page was not in violation.
Just as Smith phased out the trauma in December, her depression returned in January when two friends informed her that they saw a video of her on a Telegram chat. One member was requesting more content from her. Seeking to plead with those sharing her content, Smith went through Telegram porn groups and saw intimate images of women she knows. She said while these women thought they were sending “View Once” images, the recipients were using other phones to record the images.
It has been months of anxiety for Smith, and she now stays away from anywhere she believes her ex-partner could be. She worries that the ordeal would damage her reputation and affect her goal of becoming an entrepreneur. Most of all, she shuddered at the thought of her family finding out.
“I do not know what would happen if my family found out. It would be horrible. My family would probably not speak to me because they are not exactly understanding people.”
Smith did not report the leaked content to the Police Service (TTPS) as she did not believe it would investigate the fake profile. Although she shared her story with a police friend who told her to send the video so he could get someone to trace it, it was a dead end, and she believed he just wanted to see it. After a Guardian Media expose showed that other individuals experienced her trauma and TTPS’ willingness to pursue these crimes, she plans to give investigators a chance.
Smith said it was disturbing how some men handle the situation, seeking revenge on their ex-partners for moving on.
She finds it beyond sick that people trade others’ intimate content online. Smith said the TTPS’s Cyber crime unit needs to step up, especially as young people are fully engrossed in social media, communicating with others and sharing images. Furthermore, she believes the State should ban Telegram use as people use it to organise crimes because it provides user anonymity.
“Sometimes women and men do not realise how bad it will affect them. When you are in love, you will do many things for that person. You are blind and not thinking about the consequences. You do not think this guy will retaliate with these pictures and videos in the future. All you think about is satisfying this person because you are in love.”