3 days ago
Senegal's revenge porn victims made to suffer double shame
Hardly a week goes by without a new revenge porn scandal making the news or ricocheting around social media in the West African country, where many hold traditional conservative values. — Pixabay
DAKAR: Rama's life became a hell in Senegal after her ex-boyfriend not only sent her in-laws intimate photos of her, but also threatened to share them widely via a revenge porn influencer.
The influencers have made a career out of posting snapshots online for their hundreds of thousands of followers, accepting payment from spurned lovers or others seeking revenge.
Hardly a week goes by without a new revenge porn scandal making the news or ricocheting around social media in the West African country, where many hold traditional conservative values.
The women whose photos circulate online are often judged harshly, while the men involved walk away without blame.
For this reason, Rama, like the other women in this article, asked us not to use her real name in telling her story.
'Undressed'
Rama's nightmare began last year some time after she left her ex-boyfriend.
Resentful that she had married someone else, he first sent her husband and new in-laws photos she had shared with him when they were together. Then he threatened to turn to a famous Senegalese influencer.
Rama's life soon began to fall apart. Her marriage broke up and she had a miscarriage.
Since the beginning of last year, at least 10 such cases have been filed with Senegal's Personal Data Protection Commission (CDP), according to an AFP tally based on quarterly reports.
But the actual scale of revenge porn in Senegal is much higher, according to officials who spoke to AFP.
Victims who choose to come forward generally file complaints directly with the police cybercrime department, thus avoiding going public in the courts, the officials said.
"The way others look at (the women) and judge them dissuades victims from going public with their cases," Mouhamadou Lo, a digital law expert, told AFP.
"Silence unfortunately takes over" because the victims fear the spread of their story on social media, he said. "It's very difficult to live with the feeling of having been 'undressed'."
But Rama found the courage to go to court and gave evidence at her ex's trial in April, recounting the ordeal to a packed courtroom.
"Because of this story I had a miscarriage and lost my husband," the 32-year-old said. "I can't sleep anymore and I'm always scared. I had to change my phone number and block all of my social media accounts."
When it was his turn to speak, her former boyfriend, 44, said he had lavished her with gifts.
"I did everything for her: pocket money, the latest phone, makeup... but she betrayed me," he said from the stand.
"I was angry but today I regret it," he told the court, which nonetheless sentenced him to two years in prison, one month of which was suspended, in addition to a fine of one million CFA francs ($1,743).
Living with 'shame'
A conviction does not necessarily erase a victim's pain, whether the photos are shared broadly or on a smaller scale.
Adama has considered suicide since her ex-boyfriend shared intimate photos in a WhatsApp group after their breakup.
"I had no more desire for life," the 20-year-old student told AFP with tears in her eyes. "I stopped eating, I stopped sleeping, I just wanted to die. My life is ruined forever, no one will want to marry me."
Fatimatou Fall, head of the CDP's rights protection division, told AFP that "the victims are generally very helpless and disoriented".
Her organisation tries to help women move on, but also works to have the compromising videos or photos removed from social media.
Another victim, Mounace, said that she fled her neighbourhood in Dakar and sought refuge in her home village for more than a month after a former partner shared private images with his friends.
Now back in the capital, she said she lives with "shame" and "can no longer stand the gaze of neighbours". – AFP
