Although the events of the year 2017 are mostly hazy in my mind’s eye, there are a few events that have perched themselves firmly in my becoming as a feminist woman.
It was the year that I saw firsthand how damning issues like revenge porn could be on the psyche of women.
To start with, revenge porn can be defined as the leaking or revealing of intimate pictures, videos and sensitive sexual material in a non-consensual manner. It simply is the revealing to the general public the nude pictures, sexual text messages and sex tapes.
Often revealed on social media, revenge porn majorly targets women and can also include revealing doctored porn videos or deepfakes with women’s faces on them.
Revenge porn depends heavily on shame and how women are raised to feel shame over things like sexuality. This is because even if a man is in the same leaked sex tape with a woman, it is only the woman who experiences vitriol that is governed around shame.
Sometimes, the man in the sex tape may even be the one who does the leaking because he is very much aware that the burden of shame will hardly apply to him.
But back to 2017 and why some events stand out as evidence of the effects of revenge porn. In 2017, I had two roommates in my second year of university who had separate incidences of revenge porn. While one happened that same year, the other case happened about two years before and she told me.
I clearly remember waking up to my roommate begging a man who had hacked into her Snapchat or Instagram–I can’t remember which–not to leak her nude pictures. He had gotten her password and access to her account and had seen nude pictures which she had sent as jokes to some of her female friends. He then went on to scream and leak them when she couldn’t raise the money he was asking for.
Although my roommate tried to maintain a happy disposition, one could tell that it hurt her reputation and self esteem. I remember her going on an unusual spree of late night hangouts with different boys that was alien to her character. I also remember her getting into trouble with school authorities though I cannot remember what exactly caused it.
My other roommate had her nudes leaked about two years before she met me. She said that and the pain of being raped twice was a major reason she was had faced a year suspension from school due to drug abuse.
Revenge porn messes with the wellbeing of the individuals who have been victimised. However, we must ask why in most African countries, stronger laws have not been made to adequately protect women and punish the perpetrators of such acts.
While the Nigerian constitution criminalises the sharing of sensitive sexual material with a fine of seven million naira and three years imprisonment, it must be said that actual reporting of such cases can be hampered by insensitive police officers.
In Ghana, publishing nude photos of women and children is punishable under the Cybersecurity Act of 2020 while in South Africa, the Films and Publications Act 65 of 1996 prohibits and criminalises revenge porn.
Outside Africa, countries like the United States have laws that criminalise the dissemination of non-consensual sexual data. For countries like the United Kingdom, the Criminal Justice and Courts Act of 2015 makes it illegal to distribute non-consensual intimate images in England and Wales.
While these laws are impressive and should be commended, it is important to note that the real punishment for incidences of revenge porn is the social outcasting of the people who leak nude pictures. It is necessary that men who bank on shame when leaking nudes must also be fully aware that they too stand the loss of jobs and opportunities.
Speaking with Ifeoma*, she explained that she was a victim of revenge porn and wishes there will be less stigmatisation of victims of revenge porn.
In her words: “I’ve been a victim of this.
I was 18 when I started dating my 26 year old boyfriend. I made some stupid mistakes and sent some things I shouldn’t have.
We were on and off for a while but eventually I got tired of the emotional turmoil and I stopped indulging him.
Shortly after I turned 20, he came back to try to reignite things but I wasn’t interested in him anymore. He offered money, gifts and trips but I refused to even put myself in a situation where I would have to redo the healing process I had just completed. He went silent for a while and then came back with my nudes that I sent to him two years ago. He threatened to send them to my university’s most popular blogs if I didn’t agree to have sex with him. He also said that he has those photos backed up and that I would never really get rid of them.”
She went on to say: “I had a friend who I could confide in and he helped me handle it by ambushing him, beating him up and clearing out the contents of his iCloud. I agreed to this because I knew how pointless it would be to take things up to the police.
The friend also made him come to give me an in person apology and assured me that nothing like that would ever come up again.
I know I should feel comforted but whenever I remember that he said he’ll never really get rid of them, I get worried all over again.”
For Fatimah, sharing nudes to other people is an invasion of privacy. To quote her: “It is terrible because it’s an invasion of privacy. Nobody should see my body except whom I’ve permitted or sent nudes to myself. I like to think of it as armed robbery, to be honest. You’re coming to rob me of my privacy, my public image and respect.”
One thing is clear from the laws in Africa and the laws in non-African countries regarding revenge porn. It is that as important as they are, there needs to be a social reorientation that will see police officers work in tandem with the women to ensure that more convictions take place.
*Name changed to protect identity
Angel Nduka-Nwosu is a writer, journalist and editor. She moonlights occasionally as a podcaster on As Angel Was Sayin’. Catch her on all socials @asangelwassayin.
