In 2017, Motherboard journalist, Samantha Cole, was first to report on deepfakes in her article ‘AI-Assisted Fake Porn Is Here and We’re All Fucked’. Cole reported on a Reddit user called ‘deepfakes’ who had, in his words, ‘found a clever way to do face-swap’ using a ‘a machine learning algorithm, using easily accessible materials and…
Learning about the tools and ways we can manage our privacy online is incredibly important in the digital age. We should all be equipped with the knowledge to make informed decisions about our own digital footprint. There are a myriad of reasons why people choose to be more private than public on social media, and…
Whoopi Goldberg is making headlines for victim blaming actress Bella Thorne for taking intimate images of herself. Thorne recently took to Twitter after being threatened by a hacker with her intimate images. Thorne posted her intimate images on Twitter to take her power back, writing “…U can’t control my life u never will.” In a…
TW: Image-based sexual abuse/sextortion I am LITERALLY SHAKING with emotion as I share my TEDxPerth talk about my experiences of image-based abuse. It’s also bittersweet because to this very day I am still experiencing this horrific crime. Not that long ago an anonymous sexual predator doctored me onto the body of a woman wearing…
Today the Senate passed the Enhancing Online Safety (Non-consensual Sharing of Intimate Images) Bill 2017 with some surprising, significant amendments. This Bill is part of the Australian Government’s efforts to combat image-based sexual abuse, and was developed from a public consultation into a proposed civil penalty regime (submissions/public workshops) conducted by the Department of Communications…
The Commonwealth Government has introduced a bill, the Enhancing Online Safety (Non-consensual Sharing of Intimate Images) Bill 2017, aimed at prohibiting and deterring persons and content hosts from sharing intimate images without consent. Under the proposed law, individuals who post, or threaten to post, an intimate image may be liable to a civil penalty of $105,000. …
Image-based abuse, colloquially referred to as ‘revenge porn’ (‘revenge porn’ is a misnomer) is an umbrella term. It refers to the non-consensual sharing of intimate images. Contrary to popular belief, there is much more to image-based abuse than the textbook ‘revenge porn’ scenario of the ‘jilted ex-lover sharing nude photos of their ex without consent’. Image-based…
Words: Jessica Sheridan Whovians are all astir this week following the BBC’s casting announcement for the next Doctor. It’s typically an exciting time for fans of Doctor Who, whose central character has the ability to conveniently regenerate into a new body every couple of seasons. It’s a clever plot device, and perhaps the main reason…
Amber Rose is a feminist icon, trailblazer and champion of body positivity and women’s empowerment. She created the Amber Rose SlutWalk which is about to embark on its 3rd Annual strut on October 1st. The Amber Rose SlutWalk has a mission to put an end to slut shaming, sexual violence, victim blaming, derogatory labels, and gender inequality. And…
Let’s get one thing straight: stealthing is sexual assault. You could be forgiven for not knowing what stealthing is, except that is part of the problem. Recently the HuffPost claimed stealthing was a ‘new sex practice’, but since then people all over the world have been coming forward and telling their stories, implying there is…
13 Reasons Why Not One If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it I know it feels it But you aren’t broken I promise Two Cakes alright I spose Sometimes it’s dry and bland And crumbles apart in your hands And it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. But sometimes You’re given a slice That’s…
The body positivity movement encourages women, of all different sizes, shapes and colours to love their bodies. The movement inspires women to practice self-love – undeterred by body shaming and all the harmful, unattainable and unrealistic expectations and standards of beauty placed upon women in this looks-obsessed world that we live in. It also teaches women that they are…
CW: The following article deals with themes portrayed in Thirteen Reasons Why including mental health, suicide and sexual assault. Please read on at your discretion. Have you seen it yet? What tape are you up to? Have you seen Clay’s tape yet? HAVE YOU SEEN CLAY’S TAPE YET?! Whether you’ve actually seen it or not…
I was just 10 years old when I hit puberty and I physically matured into a young woman very quickly. I had C cups by the time I was 12 which made me the target of a lot of unwanted attention from a very early age. However, my body still hadn’t finished growing and soon I became…
Australia needs to criminalise ‘image-based sexual abuse’. This includes: revenge porn – the non-consensual sharing of intimate images; morphed porn – the non-consensual doctoring of ordinary images into pornographic material; and parasite porn – the non-consensual sharing of ordinary images onto pornographic websites. Online sexual exploitation can happen to anyone but it primarily affects women. It is…
