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Why revenge porn is bad whether the victim is a prostitute or pastor [Pulse Editor's Opinion]

Is posting nude pictures or videos of a former sexual partner justified?

Revenge porn is increasingly popular online {News24]

When people are in a sexual relationship, they might get the bright idea to make a sex tape, send each other nude photos or video call in the nude. All these are all part of romantic relationships in this age of advanced technology.

We are constantly on social media, meeting people, forging ties and engaging in sexual activities of varying intensity.

According to the Washington Post, 4 out of 5 adults have sent or received an explicit text or photo. With sexual content being sent back and forth, revenge porn has become a recurrent issue to deal with, despite efforts to curb it by making it a criminal offence.

Revenge porn, according to dictionary.com, refers to "revealing or sexually explicit images or videos of a person posted on the internet, typically by a former sexual partner, without the consent of the subject and in order to cause them distress or embarrassment."

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Recently, a singer named Stephanie Otobo released what she claims are the nude pictures of the Apostle Johnson Suleiman, who is the senior pastor and general overseer of Omega Fire Ministries International.

There were several screenshots of them engaged in explicit video calls, as well as a supposed picture of the preacher's p*nis. She said she released those videos because he was trying to stop her progress as a singer and is after her life.

Let's mention that those are, at this point, nothing but more accusations in a well-documented spat that has been going on between the singer and pastor for years.

But let's assume for a moment that they indeed had a relationship and that those photos were obtained in the course of that affair; releasing those pictures amounts to revenge porn and is very much a criminal offence.

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Again, we can't speak to the authenticity of Stephanie's claims, but if what she's saying is true, then one may say that as a married individual and a man of God, Apostle Suleiman shouldn't have been engaging in such activities with a woman who is clearly not his known wife.

Notwithstanding, that does not absolve Stephanie of the legal consequence of posting sensitive photos of the the man's body parts without his permission.

All of this is hypothetical because we really can't tell what is true and what is not. But what we can say with all certainty is that any situation where a person displays sexual content involving their former partner in a bid to shame them is clearly a crime of revenge porn. It does not matter that the person was morally wrong to be in the relationship in the first place.

Another curious case happened on Twitter in Nigeria. It was revealed that men from Twitter created a Telegram group where they send to the group nude pictures gotten from women they met on Twitter.

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Interestingly, since this information was made public, many more people have joined the group. It is disgusting to think that men share naked women’s pictures for their sexual gratification without their consent.

Some people defend these actions by saying some of the ladies are loose girls who post thirst traps online.

It doesn’t matter if other nude pictures are on the internet or even if they are prostitutes. If they post pictures online for public consumption it is not the context in which we speak.

Don’t post the ones they sent to you privately. It is that simple. Being a sex worker doesn’t rid a person of their human right, dignity and consent.

What of when women get unsolicited dick pics and they post it online? That is harassment and does not count.

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What’s the way forward? Penalising people who release such videos and pictures. For instance, the man who posted the child porn clip of the Chrisland girl engaging in intercourse is facing possible jail time.

Also, nudity needs to be demystified and destigmatized. Turn the other way, report the account and do not spread it or watch it out of curiosity. The goal is to cause shame, do not let the perpetrator achieve his goal - that was what Tiwa Savage did when she was blackmailed with her sex tape, she got the power back.

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