Victim of revenge porn says new legislation could put blame where it belongs

"Jan" was 14 when she took a nude photo of herself and sent it to the guy she was dating.

She was 15 when she found it posted to an online forum on a popular social networkingsite.

"It was really humiliating," she said.

"It was something that I sent to someone in trust and wasn't supposed tobe posted online or showed to someone else at all."

On Monday, the Newfoundland and Labrador government announced plans to introduce legislation that will give victims of "revenge porn" the right to launch a civil lawsuit.

• 'Revenge porn' law will allow people to sue those who share intimate photos

"Jan" whose real name has been withheld, supports the idea.

"I think it's going to be great, because it's really going to show people that you can't do this and get away with it," she said.

Sending photos expected back then

Jan said she originally sent the picture in trust, never expecting it would wind up online.

"I was sending it to someone that I trusted at the time. Back then it was really something that a lot of us were expected to do in order to prove that we were into a guy or that we wanted tobe with a guy," she said.

I don't think you should be judging the young girls as much as you should be judging the guys that have been posting the pictures.- "Jan"

When she was sent an anonymous message with a link to a forum on ask.fm, a social networking site that was popular with high school students at the time, she saw that same picture posted.

The photo showed her nude upper body, with her first name and first initial of her last name.

"My face wasn't in the picture, thankfully."

Other girls were not so lucky.

As she scrolled through the forum, she saw intimate pictures of girls she knew from Gander, where she lived.

She sent a few of them an anonymous message linking tothe forum, just like the one that was sent to her. She kept her name off the note so no one would know the girl in the picture was her.

"I was just hoping that no one would really know that it was me."

Blame the one who posts the photo

Though some may be inclined to blame the person taking and sending the picture, Jan disagrees.

"I don't think you should be judging the young girls as much as you should be judging the guys that have been posting the pictures," she said.

"These girls are sending it to someone who they think is really into them, who they think loves them and cares about them, and would never post it online or show anyone else."

She said although she didn't realize what was happening at the time, she felt pressure from her boyfriend to take and send the picture to him.

Revenge porn victim speaks out

6 years ago

Duration 5:43

Anthony Germain talks to a victim of revenge porn

"I felt like I had to send it to him to make him feel like I wanted to be with him," she said.

"I know so many girls that have done it, and have been in the same situation or similar situations where they've at least been threatened to have their pictures posted online."

She confronted the guy who posted the photo, but said nothing came of it.

"There's nothing to gain from posting a picture of someone nude online just because they did you wrong, or as 'revenge porn' as everyone's calling it.

"There's no need of it."