Love Island star joins protest for changes in law on revenge porn
ZARA McDERMOTT, a contestant on TV’s Love Island, joined campaign group Refuge outside the Houses of Parliament to push for amendments in the law regarding revenge porn.
The sharing of intimate images of another person without their consent is a crime but the threat to share such pictures is not.
Earlier this year Refuge launched “The Naked Threat” campaign to make changes to the Domestic Abuse Bill so that anyone sharing such images can be prosecuted.
The charity wants the Bill strengthened to prevent anyone trying to bully or blackmail their victim with threats made online or otherwise.
Ms McDermott, inset, said sharing revenge porn “completely destroys lives” and that the threat to do so was “potentially equally as damaging”.
“I think this is one of the most important milestones in the sector of revenge porn,” she said yesterday.
“The threat to share [ an image] is potentially equally as damaging and it’s a method of control that is used in and out of relationships and the Government need to recognise this threat.”
Ms McDermott became a victim of revenge porn at the age of 21 while she was a contestant on Love Island, the popular ITV2 series.
“I came out [ of the show] to find an ex of mine had shared a lot of imagery of me while I was in the show, so was completely unaware.
“I was bombarded with all these images of myself and it was hard, one of the hardest things I’ve ever gone through in my life.
“This is so important because it happens to so many women – and men – but a lot of the time it is women.
“It completely destroys lives.” She was joined outside Parliament by domestic- abuse survivor Natasha Saunders and Baroness Nicky Morgan, who will support the Bill’s amendment in the House of Lords in the coming days.
Ms Saunders said it was vital the laws were changed to reflect the digital age.
“People fail to realise just how dangerous the threat of sharing intimate images is,” she said.
“We’re living in a digital age. We need laws fit for a digital age. It’s vital we get this amendment.”