Photo Credit: Leah Juliett. 3 minute read.
Leah Juliett (they/them), who identifies as non-binary, is one of the bravest 20-year-olds out there fighting for the rights of those whose lives are often turned upside down as victims of revenge porn. That’s in part because just five years ago, Leah experienced a dark chapter in this disturbing trend, which didn’t even have a name at that time.
Now, Leah is taking what happened, and fighting back. Using personal experience to shed light on the frustrating and complicated path to justice for victims of revenge porn, they’re taking a stand.
“I was able to tell my story before it got told for me,” Leah said.
The Day Everything Changed
When Leah was just 14 years old, a classmate pressured Leah to share explicit personal pictures with him, to match his graphic and grotesque requests. (Think about that—the request itself is just as troubling as what followed. There’s little doubt the influence porn watching plays in this request, seeing as requesting sexts and a porn habit are interlinked.)
Related: Sex, Tech and Porn, A Shocking Look At What Teens Are Dealing With Today
But what happened to Leah at just 14 years old was a catalyst to them becoming a powerful voice for change, even though the years between were filled with heartache, shame, and even thoughts of suicide.
Then, years later, Leah wrote a poem. They performed it all over, including in a slam poetry contest in Washington D.C. It was, in a very literal way, lifesaving. It was the evidence of Leah’s inside strength to carry on, find courage, and reclaim everything they once thought they had lost.
The world had heard Leah’s words, and they may have even learned a new phrase: revenge porn. And with that knowledge, a new fight was born for the many victims of this unthinkable crime.
Related: The Disturbing World Of Revenge Porn
That’s where Leah headed next. At 20 years old, the poet and activist turned heads again. This time by planning march against revenge porn in April, just one year ago, in Brooklyn, New York to bring an increase of awareness to the problem and danger of revenge porn.
But the battle doesn’t end there. After Leah told their family and sought justice for the personal images that existed online of their body, that were put there without consent or desire, Leah was ready to claim ownership of those images, and get them taken down.
If Only It Were That Easy
Copyright laws can be tricky, and Leah quickly found out that while the photos were of them, they weren’t necessarily considered Leah’s intellectual property.
Secondly, in order to gain legal copyright, which, once theirs, could be a legal tool to insist that certain servers delete those photos, because they didn’t have permission to use them, Leah would have to share these intimate photos even more, this time with the government. This was especially problematic because those photos were of Leah as a minor. And to register a photo as yours, you have to show the photo. And when it comes to revenge porn, especially revenge porn of a minor, that can get uncomfortable.
Related: 14-Year-Old Sued Facebook For Not Removing Revenge Porn
As technology develops, and more and more platforms are used for communicating, you can be sure that porn will find its way onto them as well, unfortunately. And as long as that happens, we will need to collectively figure out how to protect victims who don’t consent.
Right now it’s time to figure out revenge porn, and how to protect others from experiencing what 14-year-old Leah Juliett experienced. Thankfully, Leah’s pain hasn’t been wasted. As Executive Director and Founder of The March Against Revenge Porn, Leah utilizes protest, education, media advocacy and grassroots organizing to shed light on cyber sex crimes. The March Against Revenge Porn advocates for state and federal legislation changes and stigma-free dialogue, and is making waves in changing the conversation around revenge porn
Porn’s Harms
The science and research behind the harms of porn and its connections to sex crimes are coming out daily.
Porn harms the brain, hurts relationships, and negatively affects our society as a whole. Revenge porn is yet another example of how porn is destructive. With revenge porn, the consumers get another type of pornography at the expense of real people’s lives getting destroyed, and we are taking a stand.
Related: Sexting Linked To Increased Porn Consumption, Relationship Insecurity, And Cheating
Join us in fighting sexual exploitation and choosing real love, instead.
Your Support Matters Now More Than Ever
Most kids today are exposed to porn by the age of 12. By the time they’re teenagers, 75% of boys and 70% of girls have already viewed itRobb, M.B., & Mann, S. (2023). Teens and pornography. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense.Copy —often before they’ve had a single healthy conversation about it.
Even more concerning: over half of boys and nearly 40% of girls believe porn is a realistic depiction of sexMartellozzo, E., Monaghan, A., Adler, J. R., Davidson, J., Leyva, R., & Horvath, M. A. H. (2016). “I wasn’t sure it was normal to watch it”: A quantitative and qualitative examination of the impact of online pornography on the values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of children and young people. Middlesex University, NSPCC, & Office of the Children’s Commissioner.Copy . And among teens who have seen porn, more than 79% of teens use it to learn how to have sexRobb, M.B., & Mann, S. (2023). Teens and pornography. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense.Copy . That means millions of young people are getting sex ed from violent, degrading content, which becomes their baseline understanding of intimacy. Out of the most popular porn, 33%-88% of videos contain physical aggression and nonconsensual violence-related themesFritz, N., Malic, V., Paul, B., & Zhou, Y. (2020). A descriptive analysis of the types, targets, and relative frequency of aggression in mainstream pornography. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(8), 3041-3053. doi:10.1007/s10508-020-01773-0Copy Bridges et al., 2010, “Aggression and Sexual Behavior in Best-Selling Pornography Videos: A Content Analysis,” Violence Against Women.Copy .
From increasing rates of loneliness, depression, and self-doubt, to distorted views of sex, reduced relationship satisfaction, and riskier sexual behavior among teens, porn is impacting individuals, relationships, and society worldwideFight the New Drug. (2024, May). Get the Facts (Series of web articles). Fight the New Drug.Copy .
This is why Fight the New Drug exists—but we can’t do it without you.
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