Private photos of French girl disseminated: "I became the most famous prostitute in high school"

On social media, more and more girls are finding their intimate photos distributed. Such incidents can have serious consequences.

More and more minors are finding themselves victims of "revenge porn" on Snapchat, Telegram and other social media, and parents and teachers are expressing concern, according to a report in Le Monde de France.

One such victim was 14-year-old Alisha, who drowned in the Seine River on March 8 after being beaten by two classmates. Alisha's death came just days after her phone was hacked and photos of her in her underwear were posted on social media Snapchat.

Such leaks of other people's photos are becoming increasingly common. Julie (a pseudonym) was also a victim. A few days ago, the young girl said, "I became the most famous prostitute on my high school campus." Her photo was published on social media. Maeva Janvier, founder of a group that fights online sexism, said such incidents have increased since the first blockade, with teens exchanging photos through virtual networks.

One feminist activist said that in the morning, one person posted a girl's name in a closed group on Instagram, Snapchat, and Telegram. That evening, the girl's home address and school name are published, and nude photos that humiliate her are posted.

Shanley Mclaren, who is in charge of investigating such incidents, said these are revenge porn photos, where some men distribute photos of their exes without their consent. Sometimes, girls do the same. But usually, the distributors of the photos are almost always men. Some of these photo distributors have 300,000 "followers" on social media.

Shanley McLaren added that maliciously distributing photos of others can constitute two years in prison. This practice could destroy a girl and cause her to commit suicide. The victim, Julie, received numerous insulting messages. She said, "I felt the disgust that people had for me. All my friends stopped talking to me, and in the hallways of my high school campus, I saw the way people looked at me change." Especially some boys.

Julie, 18, said that after the photo was published, on the bus, "I was touched." She felt ashamed, she didn't have the courage to appeal, and she didn't believe her parents. She never confronted the "abuser" who distributed the photos because she was afraid that the "abuser" would distribute more photos.

More than 20 young girls, some of whom had been victims, formed the volunteer group, which said it was important to break the shame in the face of such incidents. Maeva said a colleague had even called her at 4 a.m. For victims, the hardest part is appealing. But in some incidents, the photo distributors could not be found.

Raphaël, a high school history-geography teacher in Seine-Saint-Denis, says many adults are overwhelmed by such incidents. In a virtual network, such incidents are difficult to control.

Sonia, who raised her three children alone, said, "We want to help them, these girls think that their world is falling apart."