Humiliation and anger at a betrayal of trust. Can you imagine how those A-list celebs felt when they saw their nude pics online? Now imagine yourself in the same situation. Firstly, let’s not sit in judgment. For whatever reason, the pictures were taken and let’s accept that. You can start with the self-recriminations later. It’s much more productive to get on with dealing with the issue that intimate pictures of you are available for the world to see.
The best tip on how to deal with your nude pics appearing online is to remember that it is absolutely not your fault. Sure, you trusted somebody enough to reveal a personal and intimate side of yourself to them, but it is solely the fault of the person who decides to share the photos online that your privacy has been breached. You did not ask for this, you did not encourage it, something that you shared privately has been made public and that was not down to you. Do not beat yourself up.
Your sexuality and your parents are ideally two parts of your life that never have to meet, but in this case, it really is best to tell them yourself rather than them finding out for themselves through a family member or by coming across a Facebook thread. Remember that your parents love you and in times like these they will be able to give you the support and comfort that you need.
Spend a lot of your time with the people whom you trust the most, as they will know exactly how to try to make you feel better and will definitely not serve up any judgment with regards to what has happened. Being able to lean on people whom you absolutely know you can trust is vital when your privacy has been breached in such a dramatic manner.
Keep all and any evidence that you have on your phone or on your computer of exchanges that you have made with the person who has leaked your nudes online. The more data that you have to prove that you did not encourage the pics to end up online and sent them privately in good faith, the more likely it will be that the perpetrator can be prosecuted by the police.
Try your very best to get the pictures in question removed from the internet sites that they have appeared on. Look into how to send out a cease and desist order via email, a document that requests the immediate removal of all specified photos. This is a good way to cover yourself because if the order is not adhered to, then the site will be in big trouble when it comes to lawyering up!
Though the situation may be crushingly embarrassing, you have to remember that is also a crime whose perpetrator should be punished. Don’t hide away and hope it will blow over. Contact the police and report what has happened. Along with this, contact a lawyer with suitable experience and make sure that you are covered and helped in every way possible.
If your nude pics have been leaked online, take the higher ground by not reciprocating and publishing some that you may have of the perpetrator. Though revenge might seem sweet at the time, you have to remember that it is a crime to do so and, unfortunately, it is a sad fact that men are not as ridiculed and judged for naked pictures online as women are.
Yes, I know. You are all going to shout that you shouldn’t have taken the pictures in the first place. Of course, that’s the obvious way to prevent anything you don’t want to be made public ending up online. But even the most sensible people make mistakes. I would hope that any of you who have a friend whom this happens to will support her as a friend should and not sit in judgment of her.
Has this happened to you?