'I was a victim of revenge porn and the images are still out there eight years later'

A victim of revenge porn has pleaded with people to think carefully before sharing intimate images. Elizabeth, 28, who was a young victim of so-called revenge porn from the south Wales area, has said she was left traumatised after her experience, which still affects her to this day.

It is illegal to share or threaten to share private, sexual photos or videos of someone without their permission under Section 33 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act (2015). In January of this year, amendments were made to the Sexual Offences Act (2003), which replaced the previous legislation. As a result, the new legislation recognises a wider range of intimate abuse offences, which aims to make it easier for prosecutors to secure a conviction and victims to secure justice. For the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox sign up to our newsletter.

Elizabeth met her ex-partner when she was 20 years old and the couple were in a relationship for three and a half years. When speaking about the relationship, she said: "During that time we sent intimate pictures to each other, like many people do. In that sense we were doing nothing wrong, we were consenting adults and those pictures were intended for each others' eyes only."

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But when the relationship came to an end, Elizabeth's ex-partner made threats to ruin her life and send the intimate images to her work colleagues. She recalled: "He knew I was only a few months into my job and he knew I was really passionate about it and it meant a lot to me.

"But he wanted to humiliate me. I told my family and work, and reported the threats to the police, but I tried to put it to the back of my mind and move on. I was hoping they were just empty threats." But, soon after, Elizabeth suffered an awful shock.

She said: "I had a message off someone saying that they’d come across pictures of me online. I think there were two images on two different sites, but they were very clearly me. I was mortified. I reported it to the sites, but soon realised they get taken down only for them to reappear again days later. I reported it to the police and my ex was arrested. But even while an investigation was ongoing, it continued.

"It got worse when my best friend asked me if I was on Only Fans or anything like that because her partner had been sent a link which included my name. When I looked there were six photos and two videos of me, with my personal details on there too."

According to Elizabeth, the experience left her feeling "fearful" for her own safety. She said: "I wanted the ground to eat me up. But not only was it mortifying, at that point I started being fearful for my safety as it said where I was from, and I had random people trying to add me on social media.

"It really affected me and I ended up having three months off work because of the stress of it all. I had to have counselling to help me deal with it all, and that did really make a difference. Luckily, my colleagues were really supportive, but it was still an absolute nightmare."

Elizabeth said that, even now, she continued to report new incidents to the police and relevant websites, but she explained that she had accepted there was no way of retrieving the leaked images or videos. "I'm 28 now, I sent these when I was 20. And they're going to forever be there now on the site.

"It's hard. I've only just come to terms with it. I've had to have counselling, I've had good support, unlike a lot of people, they don't have support. So that's what's helped me and that's what's made me stronger. But it has affected my mental health massively because it wasn't something I wanted. It would never be something I want."

Elizabeth has now urged others to think twice about sharing intimate content. "I know it's not going away," she said. "My photos are out there now and they probably always will be. I did nothing wrong, I sent them to someone I loved, they were never intended to be seen by strangers and creeps and put on the internet for all to see. I didn't deserve to be treated like a piece of meat.

"It’s awful knowing I can be stood next to someone in a shop, someone who I don't know but who has seen me naked. It makes you feel so vulnerable. And I know there will be people judging me, when really they should be judging the person who thought it was okay to share them. To break my trust in the worst way, and absolutely dehumanise me.

"While trying to get my pictures taken down, I came across other local girls who also probably had no idea they’d be violated like this. So I had to contact them, it was the right thing to do. And after realising how common this is, I feel I have to speak out for us. To give us back a voice. This is my way of taking back control, taking back the power from the person who did this to me."

She added: "I want anyone out there who thinks sharing personal pictures like this is okay, just a bit of harmless fun, to realise how devastating it can be. And once it’s out there it’s almost impossible to claw back. If me speaking out about this can stop one other girl going through what I have, then it will be worth it."

South Wales Police has issued a useful guide on those who may be affected by revenge porn. For further information on what do do and who to contact, as well as where to find a helpline, click here.