Three months into 2017 and we have already seen the Marine Corps Photo Scandal and the "Celebgate" repeat. This isn't an uncommon occurrence as celebrity nudes (usually of women) are leaked on a regular basis. To cite a more local offense, PSU's Kappa Delta Rho Fraternity was banned from the campus after a secret Facebook group was discovered that members (made up of current members and alumni) used to share compromising photos of women (some taken without the women's knowledge/consent). Not only is this a problem, but "revenge porn," a term I have recently become familiar with, is another major issue as well. What do all of these instances have in common? They are a sick and disgusting invasion of privacy or a breach of trust and respect. Man or woman, you should be pissed off that this is still happening.
You can debate about morality and whether someone (of legal age of course) should send nudes or suggestive pictures in the first place all day long. However, there is no debate over if "leaking" private nude photos or pictures that were sent in confidence is wrong. The same (obviously) goes for compromising photos that were taken without the knowledge/consent of the people in them. The people in the leaked photos are victims of a crime, there are no doubts about it.
Imagine waking up and beginning your day just like any other. You arrive at work and your gossipy coworker informs you that they saw nude photos of you posted online. They are now out in the open for anyone with a computer to see. This could mean your boss, coworkers, family, complete strangers, anyone. Because everything is done through technology these days, this problem has become even worse. Your reputation is one of your most precious possessions and it is now shattered because of a few clicks of a mouse. Once the photos are shared, they are out in the open forever. As a professional, it could cost you your job. As a human, it could cost you your psyche, and even life (several teenagers and adults have taken their own lives as a result of their nude photographs being leaked).
Although I am unable to comprehend what kind of person would do this to another human being under any circumstances, it still continues to happen over and over again. To those who are "leaking" nudes, what do you have to gain? If someone is sending you such photos in confidence, they clearly trust you and betraying someone's trust is one of the worst things you can do to a person. Nobody deserves to have their life ruined because they trusted the wrong boy (or girl). If you are "leaking" celebrity nudes, congratulations. You officially have no life and are a pathetic excuse for a person. Just because someone is confident enough to take these pictures, does not mean you get to decide what to do with them. I mean, if you want to look at nude photos so bad, there are (legal) consenting adults out there that literally do it for a living. How wild, right?
The sad part about all of this is that we continue to blame those taking the pictures when they are being victimized. Although adults can chose to protect themselves in a variety of ways if they chose to send such pictures, there is no guarantee they will be safe. Any information that is private is still potentially accessible. Minors, on the other hand are a completely different story as they are not mature enough to consent to taking such pictures. There are even entire websites dedicated to anonymously and illegally sharing and viewing nudes. The worst part of this is that many of the girls (and boys) on these are high school-aged and even younger. This is child pornography. A FELONY. However many of the individuals involved in sharing the photos slip through the cracks and are not prosecuted. This is sad, and we need to see a change. There are penalties for this, as there should be, however, we need to make sure people are charged. There are also penalties for sharing such images of adults without consent. However, these tend to vary more than laws about minors and should still be harsh to deter people from committing this violation of privacy and breach of trust.
