Tackling abuse, Camilla and the Love Island star
THE Duchess of Cornwall spoke with ‘revenge porn’ campaigner and ex-Love Island star Zara McDermott as she highlighted the vital work of domestic abuse charities yesterday.
Camilla invited the reality television star, who fronted a powerful BBC documentary about her own experiences of having intimate images maliciously leaked online, to Clarence House to mark the 50th anniversary of Refuge.
The duchess took time out of the event to speak one-to-one with Miss McDermott about her experiences, which had left her feeling suicidal. The 24year-old said afterwards: ‘A couple of years ago the term revenge porn wasn’t known at all, but now an increasing number of people are aware of it and the absolute destruction it can bring.’
The first time the star experienced revenge porn was when she was just 14 and being bullied at school.
Then during her appearance on ITV’s Love Island in 2018, intimate images were sent around WhatsApp groups, possibly by an ex-boyfriend.
As she was on the show, she was oblivious to what was happening until she came out. ‘It was so embarrassing. I just wanted to die,’ she recalled.
Last summer Refuge launched ‘The Naked Threat’ campaign, and successfully lobbied to make the threat of sharing intimate images a crime.
A survey conducted by the charity found that one in 14 adults in England and Wales had experienced revenge porn threats – totalling 4.4 million.
Around 72 per cent of women who have received threats to share were threatened by a current or former partner and 83 per cent of women who experienced the threat from a current or ex-partner also experienced other forms of abuse.
The duchess begged domestic abuse campaigners to carry on their vital work, after an explosion in demand during the pandemic.
She told the gathering at Clarence House: ‘All of you who work in the field of domestic abuse would be the first to say that you look forward to the day when your service is no longer needed.
‘Let us use it as a milestone to galvanise and inspire us all towards a world where women and children can live in safety, free from fear.’
‘A world where women are safe’