Revenge porn, i.e. revenge porn, as the term refers to the publication of pornographic material without the knowledge and consent of the victim, involves not only celebrities, but hundreds of innocent victims who have seen their photos or sex tapes on the Internet.
From young girls who have happened to be lured into a conversation on social media to former mistresses who have broken up with their partner, no one escapes the extortion ring, about which "THEMA" brings to light sweeping evidence. It is essentially a kind of online rape that the victims suffer, as the material is published without their knowledge and circulated freely on the Internet.
Videos with protagonist women during sexual intercourse or alone in moments of self-gratification, naked photos, but also other kinds of erotic shapes star in a special application created for this purpose under the name "KiK" and again starting from Thessaloniki. "How do you like that little bird", "she's a cat now, do you like her?", "that's my ex, a big carrot from Thessaloniki" are just some of the comments that accompany the abundant material uploaded by the perpetrators on the Internet through this particular application, which includes a large number of groups whose intention is to expose or avenge their former or current partner or simply want to exploit their girlfriends for profit.
In fact, there are many times when the names of women are deliberately left visible for other users to see, and often they first upload photos of the victims in their daily lives, so that they can be fully understood and identified, and then reveal them naked or engaged in sexual acts.
The way each group works can be seen from the name it acquires on the Internet, while the rules that each user must obey in order to become a member of the group and have access to the forbidden content are clear.
Therefore, each member must offer his/her own amateur video or photo so that he/she can see the videos of other users. It is therefore clear that the material exchanged between the members of each group is purely amateur: the members of each closed group, that is to say, upload videos and photos in their possession of known girlfriends or companions. Also, a prerequisite is that each user must be active in the particular group and regularly post material, which will be updated, otherwise they are automatically excluded.
The need to update material further increases the number of visitors and content, with the result that more and more anonymous girls find themselves in such groups. Indeed, the viral is so big and the exchange of material takes on such proportions that the identity of the victims is very easily revealed: anonymous girls whose acquaintance happened to see the video are exposed in the worst way, and the same happens with the famous ones. There are many names of well-known women and celebrities who have been victims of such blackmailers, ex-partners or simply acquaintances. Typical is the example of Ioanna Touni, who has already taken the matter to the Justice Department
Minor victims
The rules by which each group operates are simple and must be "respected" - just like the corresponding rules of any mafia - from the moment one is accepted. In most groups, of course, the message is almost the same and says that it is "created for the purpose of sharing amateur videos and photos of our well-known Greek women", which certifies that these are purely amateur and not professional videos. It is necessary, according to this logic, for anyone who wishes to remain active in the group to send their own photos - at least three - with sexual content from "known Greek women" to those in charge of this website in order to be accepted and have access to the content.
"This group was created to share photos of mothers and aunts or someone we know," reads the automated message in another group created for that purpose. Although the rule in most groups is not to post photos or videos of minors, it is a given that one will find content featuring minors or minors, which, unfortunately, are still extremely popular. No one can also say with certainty whether the girls starring in these amateur-type sex scenes are not minors.
As the report by protothema.gr, in this particular platform with amateur videos with revenge porn or amateur pornographic content, which we managed to access, more than 40 groups of 50 or 100 people participate, while no one can calculate exactly how many more unknown groups exist with coded names so that they are not perceived by everyone. However, most of the groups come from the two big cities of Athens and Thessaloniki.
Approach
However, it is not only girls who shoot videos or send photos with sexy content to their partners who fall victim to revenge porn, but also unsuspecting, clueless girls on social media. A sexy photo on Instagram is enough to bring together the user who will seek to intercept it in order to use it on the relevant platform, without the girl having any idea where the photo or video she uploads to the social network might end up.
Many times the perpetrator even pretends to be interested in meeting or exploits some contact with a girl on Instagram in order to extract the relevant material and upload it to the platform.
Many times the perpetrator even pretends to be interested in meeting or exploits some contact with a girl on Instagram in order to extract the relevant material and upload it to the platform. In this way, the girls themselves become victims, as they have sent material to users without knowing its destination, let alone that it will be shown to hundreds of users hungry for more sexual content. What is particularly striking is that many of the members of these online groups constantly send photos or videos featuring their partners, asking other users for their opinion. "She's my wife, tell me what you would do to her" is one of the many comments accompanying such material. "Would you all like to fuck her together?"
She's a big whore" are some of the most typical dialogues, indicating that this is, if not outright revenge porn, an online type of rape, and by someone very close to the victim. Also, if the KiK app allows users to exchange personal messages, there are also those who exchange personal videos or photos regardless of the platform, and in many cases even ask for money in order to send naked partners or videos of them having sex, without the victims' knowledge, of course. It is worth noting that, according to protothema.gr's research, similar groups exist in other applications, apart from KiK, which abound on the Internet.
Indicative photo of those posted on this website. Many times the names of the women are deliberately left out for other users to see
Competition
With members of the groups engaged in an informal competition to see who will upload the best material, many are those who approach women through social media or the Internet in general and after they manage to convince them to send them videos and photos of their personal moments, they then smear them in dozens of groups. Indeed, in many cases, as soon as the victim stops talking to them, they do not hesitate, in order to take revenge, to give her name publicly so that other members who wish to do so can find her. What they take advantage of is that many of the victims feel comfortable during a casual sex chat to send sexually explicit material that they believe will not be seen by people other than the one they are chatting with. For this reason, it is not uncommon for photos and videos to clearly show their face, so that when the material is leaked, their identity is exposed.
What is of particular concern is the fact that similar groups that aim to share and reproduce such videos and photos do not only exist on this app, but also on the most recognized platforms, with users taking advantage of the possibility to have conversations that remain private through the use of a private message.
What is of particular concern is the fact that similar groups that aim to share and reproduce such videos and photos do not only exist on this app, but also on the most recognized platforms, with users taking advantage of the possibility to have conversations that remain private through the use of a private message. As explained to "Proto Thema" by the director of the Sub-Directorate of Cybercrime Prosecution of Northern Greece (YDEBE) Georgios Apostolidis, mainly this material is posted on pornographic websites without the consent of the victim and very often it is reproduced in closed groups or through private messages, which makes it even more difficult to identify the people behind these acts.
"The accelerated digitization associated with the pandemic has significantly influenced the development of a number of cyber threats, among which is that of the distribution of sexual content material that, while started for personal use, has become distributed for profit. However, we cannot have an accurate estimate regarding the number of videos posted, as in many cases victims decide not to report or denounce the incident out of fear of further consequences, shame of stigmatisation, and even denial or minimisation of the incident," the director stresses. In 2021 alone, the Cybercrime Unit handled a total of 13 cases of revenge pornography, of which five involved underage victims and eight involved adults.
The traces of the perpetrators
With the phrase "what goes up on the Internet is very difficult to disappear" fully reflecting the situation that has been created, the director of the Sub-Directorate for Cybercrime of Northern Greece explains the chain of distribution of pornographic material. "Audiovisual material posted on pages with pornographic content or in discussion groups does not take long to be republished on other websites or sent to other recipients, making it more difficult to delete it from the Internet", the director says, noting however that it is possible to delete it in consultation with the site administrators. What is particularly important for the progress and effectiveness of investigations is for victims to contact the police authorities as soon as possible in order not to lose (delete) digital evidence and traces, but also to limit the scope of each incident as much as possible.
"Citizens should come directly and without fear to our Service in order to discuss their concerns, as it is considered necessary for the launch of any investigation to have collected as much evidence as possible. For this reason, victims should first contact the Service's psychologist in order to receive due attention.
Each case is separate, unique and the specialized staff handles it with due care in order to avoid secondary victimization and abuse," Apostolidis points out, explaining in detail that the Service can effectively protect victims.
Each case is separate, unique and the specialized staff handles it with due care in order to avoid secondary victimization and abuse," Apostolidis points out, explaining in detail that the Service can effectively protect victims.
"In specific cases, additional information may be requested from the complainant, such as the identification of the material posted illegally, in order to facilitate further investigation of the case, as the same website may host material with the consent of the persons concerned." The first and most important step in solving any case is for victims not to be ashamed or afraid, but to speak up and make a complaint to the police authorities.
What will particularly help police officers to identify perpetrators more quickly and then bring them to justice is for victims themselves to identify the websites or discussion groups on apps where videos, photos, and the username of the person who posted them.
It should be noted that available daily and at all hours is the CYBERALERT Operational Centre where citizens can call 11188 free of charge or send emails to ccu@cybercrimeunit.gov.gr. Because the victim is not always exposed, but has all the ways to protect himself from the malicious perpetrators by protecting his private moments and defending his freedom and his right to love in every way. It goes without saying that videos are allowed if they are personal, but never without the consent of the person starring in them: otherwise, as has been wisely said, sex without consent is clearly rape.
Source
rotothema.gr
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
