1. Sweetrevenge?Nolonger.
Russell Grenning
Some twoand a half thousandyearsago, the Chinese philosopher Confucius wrote, “Beforeyou
embarkon a journey of revenge,dig two graves.”
A new,insidiousanddeliberatelycruel andhumiliatingformof revenge haseruptedonthe internet
– formerloversandpartners,furiousatbeingrejected,are postingintimate picturesof theirex on
line andsome to siteswhichcan,anddo, publishnotonlythe intimate picturesbutthe victim’s
name,contact detailsandplace of employmentaswell asotherverypersonal details.
It has become knownas “revengeporn”and the Commonwealth,State andTerritorygovernments
are scramblingtocome to gripswithit.
The extentof thisphenomenoninAustraliahasnotbeenmeasured.Inthe USA,the American
Psychological Associationhasreportedthatone intenex-partnershasthreatenedtoexpose
intimate imagesof theirex-partneronlineand60% of those whomade the threatsfollowingthrough
and publishedthem. Over90%of victimsare women.
Recently,authorAmyStockwellwrote aboutone Australianvictimof “revengeporn”whomshe
called“Cathy”.She wrote, “Every time40-year-old Cathy meetssomeonenew,shewonderswhether
they haveseen her naked.”
“Hundredsof thousandsof peoplehave.Maybemore,shedoesn’tactually know.Cathy wasdivorced
with two children when picturesof her and her contactdetails appeared on a ‘revengeporn’site. The
pictures showed herin acrobaticnudeposesthatmadeher looklike a seasoned porn star.Shefirst
knewaboutthiswhen she started receiving messagesfromonlineporn enthusiasts wantingmore
photos.Then they started contacting herwork.”
“Cathy wasterrified thatshe would losecustody of her children.She quit herjob,moved cities and
started using her maiden nameagain to get away fromtheembarrassmentand thefearthatpeople
would see the pictures.Perhapsthemostdistressing thing is this: Cathy had nevertaken a nude
photo of herself.She’d neversent a nudephoto,norhad oneever been taken of her.Nor had she
ever been hacked.Somebody had simply founda pictureof her online and photo-shopped herinto
porn scenes.”
In anothertragiccase, highschool studentAudrie Pottsgotdrunkata partyand while she was
passedouther classmatessexuallyassaultedherandrecordedthe disgustingdetailsontheirsmart
phones.The nextdayshe startedgettinglewdmessagesfloodingherinbox and,distressed,she sent
a message toone of herclassmates, ”My life is over... I ruined my life and I don’teven remember
how.”Audrie killedherself thatafternoon.
Onlyrecently,SouthAustralianpolice were quicktotell the 500 victimsof “revengeporn”hacking
that theyreallyshouldhave beenmore careful.A spokesmansaid,“Itis timely to stressthat
uploading imagesand textsaredonein an instantand often withoutthinking aboutthelong-term
effects.”

2. Victimswhoaskthe operatorsof websitesthatthrive on “revengeporn”to remove theirpictures
theyare justlaughedat.One SouthAustralianvictimwastoldbyan overseaswebsite administrator,
‘Fuckoff you autistic whore,you cannotdo anything to stop us.”
Some of these websiteswillonlytake downthe offendingpicturesif the victimspayanexorbitant
fee.
Google hasannouncedthatwill take stepstohelpprotectpeople whohave theirimagesstolenand
placedonthese sitesbymakingsure that theirimagesdonotappearin anysearchesusingthe
Google Searchengine.Buttheycannotdo anythingaboutthe imagesactuallybeingonthese
websites. Microsofthasmade asimilarmove whenreportedbyvictimsand Twitter,Facebook and
Reddit have banned “revengeporn”posts.
“Revengeporn”is notoriouslyhardtopolice –the copyrightinthe image belongstothe personwho
tookthe photoand websitesthathostthe photosaren’tliable forcontentprovidedbyothersunless
it ischildpornography.
Victoriaisthe onlyAustralianjurisdictionwhichhassome of the bestlegislationinthe world
outlawingthe sharingof intimate imagery,textsorvideosof anex-partnerwiththe intenttocause
harm or distress.Italsomakesitillegal todistributethe images.Butitdoes notprotectvictimsfrom
beinghackedandit does nothelptoget the imagesremovedespeciallywhenthe websitesand
hackersare overseas.
In SouthAustralia,distributionof invasive imagescouldbe prosecutedunderthe Summary Offences
Act 1953 but thatis clearlyinadequate;inNSWpeople couldbe chargedunderthe CrimesAct1900
and that State is reviewingthe adequacyof itslaws.Nationally,peoplecouldbe chargedwith “using
a carriageservice to causeoffenceor to harassormenaceanotherperson” underCommonwealth
telecommunicationslegislation.
Aroundthe worldgovernmentsare takingaction.Israel wasfirsttoclassifyarevenge porn
perpetratorasa sex offenderlastyearwhile specificlegislationhasbeenenactedinseveral
countriesincludingCanada,Japanandthe UK.
What iscertainin Australiatodayisthat little,if any,protection toaffordedvictimsof “revenge
porn”althoughgrowingawarenessof itmayleadtosome governmentaction.