British ‘revenge porn’ victim hopes victims dare to step out of the shadows to put an end to the phenomenon, he says The sun.
Jill, a 39-year-old woman, does not hesitate to criticize the company MindGeek, which is behind the websites PornHub, Redtube, YouPorn and Brazzers. “Revenge porn,” pornographic videos often posted by an ex-partner to get revenge, had a devastating impact on their lives.
Jill also had the courage to denounce her ex-partner in 2018 after becoming a victim of this phenomenon. The man was sentenced to one year in prison for blackmail and online sexual harassment. Despite everything, the victim does not know whether all videos have been deleted.
Despite her attempts, Jill never heard from MindGeek. She fears that other videos of her are still available on the Internet.
“I want people to know that we are real people,” she said. If we remain anonymous, no one will see your face or your name – you won’t really be seen as a person.”
“[MindGeek] “It hurts lives,” she continued. The company hurt me. I just wish more people would come forward and we could build a community together. […] I was so ashamed that I thought about taking my own life.”
Online rape
Jill is far from the only victim.
In 2019, a missing 15-year-old girl was found after her mother was alerted. There were nearly 60 videos of the teen being sexually abused on Pornhub.
Victim Rose Kalema also shared her own heartbreaking story in 2020. She told how she was raped with a knife when she was just 14 years old.
Rose said she felt sick when the video was uploaded to Pornhub a few months later and shared by her classmates, according to the BBC.
Rose Kalema did not receive a response from Pornhub until she contacted the owners through her attorney.
Lawyers from the American law firm Brown Rudnick have filed legal proceedings against MindGeek and its various subsidiaries on behalf of 30 victims of child pornography, rape and human trafficking.